How Societies Fall

Despite Roth’s commentary on social stratification, Divergent feels less like a dystopian allegory and more like teenage angst with a bit of romance and lots of violence thrown in. There is little reference to social or political strife (Erudite seems to want control simply for the sake of being in power, not because of misgovernment by Abnegation), and no real exposition to show how greatly the dystopian society of the future is different than the society of today. The novel neglects to explore the causes of the Great War (an important factor to the birth of a factionalized society) and fails to plausibly convey how such a political and social system could exist 100 years without confrontation and uprising. Why would each faction cede power to one other faction (effectively silencing their own voices) rather than opt for a government run by a council of equal number of

A utopia sounds like a wonderful thing. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “utopia” as an “imagined or hypothetical place, system, or state of existence in which everything is perfect, esp. in respect of social structure, laws, and politics.” (OED, 2015, entry 2) But what happens when someone tries to bring this imagined land of perfection into reality? Both in fictional literature and in real life applications, utopian dreams destroy societies.

•This society is meant to be an illusion of a perfect utopian world where everyone is equal and everything is managed.

Imagine a life where everything is perfect. Sadly this is not possible. Many societies that were thought to be perfect, like The Maze Runner, Nazi Germany, Sierra Leone, and Ancient Greece figured this out the hard way. Societies fall due to corrupt leaders, lack of supplies, and a faulty security system.

Imagine a world where there were no problems, and everyone is happy. Few societies have not even been close to being this perfect. Great societies fail due to weak security systems, poverty, and inequality. The failed societies of Ancient Rome, Africa, and the dystopian novel Divergent by Veronica Roth, are all examples of great societies failing because of these three reasons.

A society that is perfect, where everything is equal and everyone is happy, where there’s

A utopia is what everyone is aiming for, but is that really what they are getting? With the hopes of a perfect society, we the people are rushing for a drastic change in the way things work without giving too much care in which direction things are changing, and that can and will cause definite issues. In the hopes to rush into a perfect world, too many people are treating government like a roulette wheel and hoping for the best, even though all odds are against them. In doing so, they are setting themselves up for a more controlled tomorrow.

Tainter main argument is that the collapse of societies stemmed from the failure of problem-solving institutions. That once these issues arose in the empires, the ruling factions were unable to provide solutions or relief that would provide stability and support the citizens. Furthermore, the societies collapsed they couldn’t adapt the

A perfect society has always been the goal for many; unfortunately it has only existed in books. The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli, written in 1513, provides necessary information to become a Prince who will obtain, keep, and please his empire. Thomas More's Utopia, written in 1516, creates an ideal civilization that will live happily, comfortably, and without any problems. Both books attempted to solve problems within a society by critiquing other institutions and creating their own solutions. With the rise in cities, trade, and the economy in the 15th century, people began to realize order and structure in a society is necessary to flourish. Machiavelli and

Most of what we know to be African Literature, talks about the changes from an un-dignified "lion-chasing" culture to that of a semi-dignified European society. The novel Things Fall Apart by Nigerian-born author Chinua Achebe, tells the story of a Umuofian villager named Okonkwo, and how Okonkwo has to come to grips with the changes that are happening in everyday Ibo life. The novel Things Fall Apart is not your typical "tall African tale." The novel is a story, a story not just about one person, but about an entire civil-society circa 1890's that becomes overwhelmed with the ideas and beliefs of the European colonizers, or as some like to refer, "the white man." Author Chinua Achebe witnessed this "invasion" first-hand, so who better

Sometimes one group in a government will become too power hungry and cause the society to fall. The society in Divergent was breaking apart when the Erudite started spreading lies to weaken the peoples belief in Abnegation as their government so they can easily take over. An Erudite reporter says, “Perhaps the answer is that we have entrusted our city to a group of proselytizing tyrants who do not know how to lead us out of poverty and into prosperity” (Roth 243-244). Spreading false information shows that they want the people to believe that the Abnegation aren’t the right people in the government so that they will gain power. The weakening of government rule will then cause political instability, and the society will fall into chaos from people wanting to gain control.

A utopian community would be a world without oppression, discrimination or social hierarchy—essentially, an ideal place to live. However, does a perfect society really exist? In Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, More flirts with the concept of a utopian community with regard to geography, city structure, labor, government and religion. Considering these aspects, the community depicted in Utopia is primarily a success, with limited failures.

A perfect society. Something we long and hope for, and work towards to achieve for our future. We picture this society in many different ways, including things like equality, no poverty, and everyone being taken care of among many things. However, we have not become this perfect society yet. This makes you start to wonder, what is preventing this perfect society that we all share a vision of? The perfect society would contain things like equality, happiness, and unity. However, these things are counteracted by greediness, other’s misery, and the fight for power.

One reason why a perfect society can never be made is due to the fact that even though it might be set up perfectly, we cannot change the fact that people are imperfect. Any bit of imperfection is all it takes to cause something to turn from perfect to imperfect. One writer said about utopian societies, “Even with such optimism, the flawed individual is still inserted into otherwise improved societies" (Hough 1). This quote explains how the society in general is improved, but the people are not. Governments have tried to change the way people think to create perfect humans. People are influenced to think exactly how the government wants them to, and teaches them from a young age to love the Party and the government in which they live. Their right to make their own assessment is being taken away. It is true that governments are often successful in brainwashing the majority of the population; however, they can never control

The idea of a perfect society, or “utopia,” was first introduced in Sir Thomas More’s book Utopia, written in 1516. In the book, More described a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean through the character Raphael. On the island everything and everyone has a specific place and purpose. There is no private property, all of the houses on the island are the same; you can walk in the front door, through the house, and out the back door. All necessary items are stored in warehouses, where people only request what they need. The people on the island manufacture the items in the warehouse, everyone that can work does, which means little to no unemployment.