Utopia vs. Dystopia

There is an uneasiness in the world today. Everywhere people dread what tomorrow will bring as they watch the very fabric of our civilization changing—and not for the better.

At the same time, some harbor the undying hope that it is not too late for humanity, if we act quickly and prudently. We must act now, they believe, to save the planet and the human race, and come out on the other side with a much better world.

Which vision of the future will prevail? Dystopian fears or the quest for utopia?

What is the difference between utopia and dystopia?

The word utopia dates back to 1516. Sir Thomas More combined the Greek ou, meaning “no” or “not,” and the Greek topos, meaning “place,” for the title of his book, which included the new word utopia.

The word he coined literally means “no place.” He was telling us in his title that the paradise he described did not exist.

Dystopia is another made-up word. The Greek prefix in utopia is replaced with the Latin dys, meaning “bad.” When this word is used to describe a book or movie, it informs us up front that the society portrayed is one that evokes terror.

Both concepts have spawned scores of books and movies laying out what each author proposes to be the basis of a human-built paradise or a hell on earth.

Although Thomas More coined the term utopia, his book was not the first attempt to describe what it would take to create a perfect society. Writers, poets and philosophers have outlined their own ideas for millennia.

Human ideas about utopia

One of the earliest attempts at identifying the basis of an ideal civilization was Plato’s Republic. For Plato, achieving such a goal meant power should reside in the hands of philosopher kings.

The final chapter of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, describes an Eden-like setting. More recently, B.F. Skinner, a psychologist and pioneer of behaviorism, published his novel Walden Two in 1948. In the book’s 1976 preface, he wrote that society should “use our knowledge about human behavior to create a social environment in which we shall live productive and creative lives.”

Other utopian literature has based the ideal civilization on anything from ancient religious traditions (James Hilton’s 1933 novel Lost Horizon) to more recent socialist ideas (Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward: From 2000 to 1887).

These utopian ideals all have one thing in common. They look to human ideas for the solutions to world problems.

Fascinated by dystopia

At the other end of the spectrum are the dystopian works. Considering the number of utopian and dystopian works published in the last century, it seems that dystopian novels and movies have almost entirely displaced utopian ones. And more than half of them in the new millennium have been marketed to young adults.

The Hunger Games, a popular 2008 novel by Suzanne Collins, is a prime example of young adult dystopian fiction. The 2012 movie version became a blockbuster, with sales of more than 50 million tickets in the United States alone.

As in so many dystopian novels, a wealthy and powerful elite oppress the vast majority of the population, who live in poverty. This premise reflects the shattered dreams of many real people throughout history, such as the peasants who rose up against the Russian czar and the German people who fell prey to the Nazis.

Perhaps the most influential of dystopian works to date is 1984 by George Orwell. So much of our dystopian vocabulary, whether we recognize it or not, comes from this ground-breaking novel.

In The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell’s 1984, author Dorian Lynskey explains: “The phrases and concepts that Orwell minted have become essential fixtures of political language, still potent after decades of use and misuse: Newspeak, Big Brother, the Thought Police, Room 101 . . . 2 + 2 = 5, and the Ministry of Truth” (2019, p. xiv).

(For more about dystopian fiction, see “Post-Apocalyptic Fiction and Fact.”)

Utopia vs. dystopia in the Bible

Although the Bible does not include these relatively new words, the concepts are at the core of Scripture. In fact, the Bible begins and ends with utopia in mind.

After creating human beings, God “planted a garden eastward in Eden” (Genesis 2:8). He gave this idyllic garden to Adam to tend (verse 15). It was a perfect place for the first man and woman to live and thrive.

God pointed out two trees in the midst of the garden. One was the “tree of life,” and the other was the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (verse 9). Adam was free to eat of any tree in the garden, with one exception—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (verses 16-17).

This tree does not represent the acquisition of knowledge, as though knowledge itself is a bad thing. Scripture actually highlights the value of knowledge. The introductory words of Proverbs, for instance, explain that the book’s purpose is to impart wisdom, instruction and understanding (Proverbs 1:1-7).

Instead, taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents choosing to decide for oneself what is good and what is evil.

The serpent persuaded Eve that by eating the fruit of this tree she could be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5). So when she “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (verse 6). She gave its fruit to Adam, and he, too, ate.

In essence, when Adam and Eve decided to disobey God—eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—they were usurping His authority. They were claiming the right to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil.

Basically, Adam and Eve were choosing for themselves what they thought would make life perfect. It’s the same choice pursued by anyone who has ever attempted to create a utopia. All utopian ideals invoke human ideas.

Yet the reality is that though humans try to redefine evil as good, they can’t change the consequences. There is a way that seems right to humans, but it actually leads to suffering and death (Proverbs 14:12). Disobeying God’s perfect law will never produce the utopia we want.

Dystopia as a choice

Although the word means “bad place,” a dystopia is often a failed or a lost utopia. Books and movies describing dystopias usually provide (or at least hint at) some sort of explanation of how that society came to be.

In many cases, these fictional dystopias emerge as the result of human attempts to solve problems. This merely echoes reality. History is replete with failed attempts to create utopias.

The French Revolution, for instance, was a struggle for “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” Unfortunately, it brought about the “Reign of Terror,” a period of brutal executions that lasted nearly a year.

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they were thrust from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22-24). In choosing to decide for themselves, they lost the utopia God had given them, replacing it with their own dystopia.

Racing toward dystopia

No human government has ever been perfect, though some have fared better than others. The most successful societies have often been those that endeavored to respect and apply various biblical principles.

That respect is fast disappearing as Western societies take the lead in redefining marriage and even what makes men, men and women, women. We are following in the footsteps of Adam and Eve, choosing to decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.

We are racing toward the worst possible dystopia, described by Jesus as a period of “great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). Knowing the horrors of modern history, this statement should be sobering to every person who reads it.

God is merciful, however, and will not allow us to destroy ourselves. Jesus promised that “for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (verse 22).

Have we lost utopia forever?

Adam and Eve made a choice to sin and were thrust from paradise. All of us have sinned, and the results of our sins have made this world more dystopian for ourselves and those around us.

The good news is that what has happened to our world—what we have created—is reversible. Early in his ministry, the apostle Peter spoke of our need to repent of sin—to change—so that “times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

He was not the first to hold out hope. The prophet Isaiah told the people of Judah, and specifically Jerusalem, that God would “make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD” (Isaiah 51:3). Ezekiel, another of God’s prophets, held out the same hope for the land to become like the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:33-36).

The final chapter of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, describes an Eden-like setting, though the name Eden is not used. The chapter mentions the tree of life twice (Revelation 22:2, 14). It also mentions the lifting of the curse (verse 3), an allusion to Adam’s punishment for sin (Genesis 3:17-19).

Utopia vs. dystopia—your choice

Prophecy reveals that our world will experience the worst of all dystopian times, and probably not too far into the future. It will be a time that will make even the rich and powerful long for death (Revelation 6:15-16).

Jesus Christ talked about this end-time period of tribulation that would threaten human survival, but He also promised those days would be shortened and humanity would be saved from self-destruction (Matthew 24:21-22).

The prophet Daniel saw a vision of that time when God will crush the kingdoms of this earth, setting up a glorious Kingdom that will never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44). This is the good news of the Kingdom of God. It will be the “times of restoration of all things” the apostle Peter spoke of (Acts 3:21), when the increase of God’s government and peace will have no end. “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7).

God’s version of utopia is coming, and He wants you to enjoy it. But to do so, you must first repent, as Peter explained, so that you can be part of the times of refreshing (Acts 3:19). And you must be committed to obeying God (Revelation 22:14). Obedience to God’s perfect law is the true way to peace and utopia.

What will you do, and what will you choose?

Study more about the real utopia God has planned in our article “What Is the Kingdom of God?”