Utopianism, Problem of

According to Thomas Nagel, “An ideal, however attractive it may be to contemplate, is utopian if reasonable individuals cannot be motivated to live by it.”¹ When given serious consideration, utopian ideals generate what he calls the “problem of utopianism.” While a given political or moral theory may be well-supported by rigorous philosophical argument, if it is a utopian ideal, then this particular political or moral theory will not have any practical use because too few individuals will abide by it for its benefits to be meaningfully realized. In a manner similar to the demandingness objection, the problem of utopianism suggests that satisfactory, useful political and moral ideologies cannot demand unreasonable sacrifices of individuals’ self-interests.

1. Thomas Nagel, Equality and Partiality (New York:  Oxford University Press, Inc., 1991), 21.