Utopias all destined to fail?
Are you old enough to remember the 90s? One of the features of this era was the rise of a number of technology companies whose products are now ubiquitous elements of our society. Think of Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and the like. During this time Amazon has also risen.
An article I read recently talked about this era and how in the main the driver of these companies was different to the normal. They all, at least to a large degree, were about improving society. They were seen by themselves, and by the general public and government as profitable, and agents of social improvement. The writer talks about the comparison between then and now. She felt that the companies concerned had started off pursuing a utopia of sorts but had become progressively what they are now - just another set of big businesses with profit as the bottom line. Utopia lost! She suggests that Americans have a soft spot for utopian ideas - there have been many throughout their history. She goes on to say, “but reality eventually shatters all utopias”. (Nicole Hemmer, 2018).
I find it hard to disagree. Any ‘utopia’ that is originated by humankind is destined to fail because human nature is capable of good but prone to evil. In the end evil will win or at least largely dilute the good. There’s one important exception to this rule though. If God were to set up a ‘utopia’ logically it would not fail because He doesn’t have the limitation of human nature at all. In fact He will do just that. Jesus will return to this earth and set up God’s ‘utopia’. I hope it happens soon.