Imperfect Ideal: Utopian and Dystopian Visions

Throughout the ages, people have looked at their communities and dreamed of how they could be perfected. But such dreams, no matter how well-intentioned, can result in conditions far worse than what came before. The selections in Imperfect Ideal illustrate the best and worst of these utopian and dystopian visions, challenging readers to address the perennial questions of how society should be structured and governed, as well as what kind of communities are the most conducive to human fulfillment, both privately and in the civic arena.