Editing Utopia (section)

===Economics===
{{Main|Utopian socialism|Fourierism|Icarians|Owenism}}
Particularly in the early 19th century, several utopian ideas arose, often in response to the belief that social disruption was created and caused by the development of [[commercialism]] and [[capitalism]]. These ideas are often grouped in a greater "utopian socialist" movement, due to their shared characteristics. A once common characteristic is an [[egalitarian]] distribution of goods, frequently with the total abolition of [[money]]. Citizens only do [[labour (economics)|work]] which they enjoy and which is for the [[common good]], leaving them with ample time for the cultivation of the arts and sciences. One classic example of such a utopia appears in [[Edward Bellamy]]'s 1888 novel ''[[Looking Backward]]''. [[William Morris]] depicts another socialist utopia in his 1890 novel ''[[News from Nowhere]]'', written partially in response to the top-down ([[bureaucratic]]) nature of Bellamy's utopia, which Morris criticized. However, as the socialist movement developed, it moved away from utopianism; [[Marx]] in particular became a harsh critic of earlier socialism which he described as "utopian". (For more information, see the [[History of Socialism]] article.) In a materialist utopian society, the economy is perfect; there is no inflation and only perfect social and financial equality exists.

[[Edward Gibbon Wakefield]]'s utopian theorizing on systematic [[colonialism|colonial]] [[settler|settlement]] policy in the early-19th century also centred on economic considerations, but with a view to preserving class distinctions;<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Woollacott
 | first1 = Angela
 | author-link1 = Angela Woollacott
 | chapter = Systematic Colonization: From South Australia to Australind
 | title = Settler Society in the Australian Colonies: Self-Government and Imperial Culture
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SfCkBgAAQBAJ
 | location = Oxford
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | date = 2015
 | page = 39
 | isbn = 9780191017735
 | access-date = 24 June 2020
 | quote = In Wakefield's utopia, land policy would limit the expansion of the frontier and regulate class relationships.
}}
</ref>
Wakefield influenced several colonies founded in [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]] in the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s.

In 1905, [[H. G. Wells]] published ''[[A Modern Utopia]]'', which was widely read and admired and provoked much discussion. 

Part of [[Eric Frank Russell]]'s book ''[[The Great Explosion]]'' (1963) details an economic and social utopia. This book was the first to mention the idea of [[Local Exchange Trading Systems]] (LETS).

During the "[[Khrushchev Thaw]]" period,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Thaw-Soviet-cultural-history|title= the Thaw – Soviet cultural history|access-date= 14 May 2017|archive-date= 11 September 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170911210843/https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Thaw-Soviet-cultural-history|url-status= live}}</ref> the Soviet writer [[Ivan Yefremov|Ivan Efremov]] produced the science-fiction utopia [[Andromeda (novel)|''Andromeda'']] (1957) in which a major cultural thaw took place: humanity communicates with a galaxy-wide Great Circle and develops its technology and culture within a social framework characterized by vigorous competition between alternative philosophies.

The English political philosopher [[James Harrington (author)|James Harrington]] (1611–1677), author of the utopian work ''[[The Commonwealth of Oceana]]'', published in 1656, inspired English [[Country Party (Britain)|country-party]] republicanism (1680s to 1740s) and became influential in the design of three American colonies. His theories ultimately contributed to the idealistic principles of the American Founders. The colonies of [[Province of Carolina|Carolina]] (founded in 1670), [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] (founded in 1681), and [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]] (founded in 1733) were the only three English colonies in America that were planned as utopian societies with an integrated physical, economic and social design. At the heart of the plan for Georgia was a concept of "agrarian equality" in which land was allocated equally and additional land acquisition through purchase or inheritance was prohibited; the plan was an early step toward the [[yeoman]] republic later envisioned by [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>Fries, Sylvia, ''The Urban Idea in Colonial America'', Chapters 3 and 5</ref><ref>Home, Robert, ''Of Planting and Planning: The Making of British Colonial Cities'', 9</ref><ref>Wilson, Thomas, ''The Oglethorpe Plan'', Chapters 1 and 2</ref>

The [[Intentional community|commune]]s of the 1960s in the United States often represented an attempt to greatly improve the way humans live together in communities. The [[back-to-the-land]] movements and [[hippie]]s inspired many to try to live in peace and harmony on farms or in remote areas and to set up new types of governance.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://brbl-archive.library.yale.edu/exhibitions/utopia/uc22.html|title= America and the Utopian Dream – Utopian Communities|website= brbl-archive.library.yale.edu|access-date= 14 May 2017|archive-date= 8 May 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170508061013/http://brbl-archive.library.yale.edu/exhibitions/utopia/uc22.html|url-status= live}}</ref> Communes like [[Kaliflower Commune|Kaliflower]], which existed between 1967 and 1973, attempted to live outside of society's norms and to create their own ideal [[Communalism (Bookchin)|communalist]] society.<ref>{{Cite web
|url= http://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=432
|title= For All the People: Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements and Communalism in America, 2nd Edition
|website= secure.pmpress.org
|access-date= 2017-04-26
|archive-date= 2017-02-28
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170228044003/https://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=432
|url-status= dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Curl
 | first1 = John
 | author-link1 = John Curl
 | year = 2009
 | chapter = Communalism in the 20th Century
 | title = For All the People: Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements, and Communalism in America
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HQJ1XhTqcR4C
 | edition = 2
 | location = Oakland, California
 | publisher = PM Press
 | publication-date = 2012
 | pages = 312–333
 | isbn = 9781604867329
 | access-date = 24 June 2020
 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

People all over the world organized and built [[intentional communities]] with the hope of developing a better way of living together. Many of these intentional communities are relatively small. Many intentional communities have a population close to 100, but many others possibly are larger than that.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sager |first=Tore |date=August 17, 2017 |title=Planning by intentional communities: An understudied form of activist planning |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1473095217723381 |journal=Planning Theory|volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=449–471 |doi=10.1177/1473095217723381 |issn=1473-0952 |hdl=11250/2598634 |hdl-access=free |access-date=April 13, 2024 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109084741/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1473095217723381 |url-status=live }}</ref> While this may seem large, it is pretty small in comparison to the rest of society. From the small populations, it is apparent that people do not prefer this kind of living or do not have the opportunity to join such collections.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}. 

While many of these small communities failed, some are still in existence. The religion-based [[Twelve Tribes communities|Twelve Tribes]], which started in the United States in 1972, grew into many groups around the world. 

Similarly, the commune [[Brook Farm]] was established in 1841, founded by Charles Fourier's visions of Utopia. Its residents attempted to recreate Fourier's idea of the Phalanx, a central building in a society.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web |title=Brook Farm {{!}} Transcendentalist Utopia, West Roxbury, MA {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brook-Farm |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=2024-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507020609/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brook-Farm |url-status=live }}</ref> However, this commune did not sustain itself and ended after only six years of operation. Its residents wanted it to keep going, primarily due to financial difficulties. The community's goal aligned with utopian ideals to lead a more wholesome and simpler life, avoiding the atmosphere of social pressure in the surrounding society at the time.<ref name="britannica.com"/> Despite ambition and hopes, it is difficult for communes to stay in operation for long.