Review of Basic Concepts

It has recently become apparent to me that there is still some confusion among reader(s) as to what is referred to by the term "utopia."

As was stated in the opening post of this blog, a utopia is a community/society that is free from such things as conflict, violence of malicious intent, and dissent. Due to this fundamental lack of ill intent and unrest, it is often considered to be "perfect" and devoid of unhappiness. Since then, several examples showing why a community such as this cannot exist have been described.

In the fundamental definition applied to these examples, the defining word is perfection. To be perfect has several different definitions. They include reference to a verb tense in which no specific starting or ending time is given and having both stamens and pistils in the same flower (taken from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perfect). Neither of these is applicable, in context, to utopia. Rather, the operating definition is to be entirely lacking of flaws or defects. When this last use of the term "perfection" can be applied to a community or society, it is a utopian society. The examples that have previously been used are demonstrations of how such a society or community cannot actually exist.

Hopefully this clarification of what is meant by "utopia" will serve to clear up any misunderstandings.