The Best of Worlds: How Philosophers Proposed to Organize Society and the State

What if utopia isn’t only dreams and fantasies, but also scientific and philosophical research? After all, behind every idea that once seemed impossible stood people who knew how to think beyond the limits of reality. That’s exactly how projects of ideal states, communes, and communities were created—models of new forms of social life in which everyone would have their own role and place, and every person would be happy.

Using sources from Antiquity to early 20th-century Russian philosophy, the authors will talk about the most famous projects of ideal states—from classical ancient sources to world-famous fantastic projects. Examples from popular culture, such as the universes of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter,” the TV series “The Wild West World” and many others will help you better understand how philosophical theories of the ideal world work.

The authors of this book—philosophy teachers Yuri Trusov and Daria Abalmasova—have carefully studied the history of these ideas, because it’s entirely possible that the most vague notions of the unattainable can find their application in reality. Utopias are not only unreal dreams of the mind, but also opportunities that can lead to the realization of the most surprising projects.

For example, for the entire second half of the 20th century humanity feared a machine uprising—and today this text was written by artificial intelligence!

Welcome to the world of utopias!