Why Utopias Are Impossible: Three Simple Proofs

By Futurist Thomas Frey

I’ve often said there is no such thing as utopia. Even though millions of people believe in perfect societies where everyone is happy, needs are met, and conflicts don’t exist—they simply can’t happen. Not because we haven’t tried hard enough, but because utopias violate basic logic.

This isn’t pessimism or cynicism. It’s reality. And here’s why.

Proof 1: Everyone Wants Different Things

Utopia requires everyone being satisfied simultaneously. But people want contradictory things.

Some people want quiet neighborhoods. Others want vibrant nightlife. Some want warm climates. Others prefer cold. Some want dense cities with easy access to culture. Others want rural space and privacy. Some want adventure and risk. Others want safety and predictability.

Even in a group of three friends choosing a restaurant, someone’s disappointed. Now scale that to millions of people making decisions about everything—laws, economics, culture, environment, technology, education, healthcare.

There’s no arrangement that gives everyone what they want because what people want conflicts. You can’t have a society that’s simultaneously rural and urban, risk-taking and safe, traditionalist and progressive, communal and individualistic.

You might say: “We’ll compromise!” But compromise means nobody gets what they actually want—everyone settles for less. That’s not utopia. That’s managed disappointment.

For utopia to work, everyone would need to want identical things. But if we all wanted the same outcomes, we’d need to be identical people. And a society of identical people isn’t functional—it’s a nightmare. Diversity of thought and preference is what makes societies work, but it also makes universal satisfaction impossible.

Proof 2: There’s Never Enough of What People Actually Want

Utopia requires abundance—everyone getting what they need without competition. But the things people most want are precisely the things that can’t exist in abundance.

Here’s the problem: Human satisfaction isn’t about having enough—it’s about having more than others or having something others can’t have.

Everyone can’t have beachfront property—there’s limited beach. Everyone can’t be the most successful person in their field—success is relative. Everyone can’t have unique, special experiences—by definition, if everyone does it, it’s not special. Everyone can’t be above average—that’s literally impossible.

The stuff people actually care about—status, prestige, exclusive opportunities, prime real estate, rare achievements—is valuable specifically because it’s scarce. If you give it to everyone, it loses the value that made people want it.

Even worse: as soon as people get what they wanted, they want more. You give everyone a comfortable house, they want a bigger one. You give everyone transportation, they want faster transportation. Human wants expand infinitely. There’s no level of abundance that creates permanent satisfaction.

We don’t want “enough.” We want “more than we have now” and “more than others have.” Utopia can’t provide that for everyone simultaneously.

Proof 3: Today’s Heaven Is Tomorrow’s Boring

Let’s say—impossibly—you created a perfect moment where everyone is genuinely satisfied right now. It still can’t last.

Here’s why: Humans adapt to good conditions instantly. The amazing thing you have today becomes normal tomorrow. The new car thrill lasts weeks. The promotion satisfaction lasts months. The beautiful home becomes just where you live.

Psychologists call this the hedonic treadmill—we return to baseline happiness regardless of positive changes. What made you happy yesterday is just normal today. What seems perfect now will feel inadequate soon.

This means maintaining utopia would require constantly improving conditions forever. But if you’re constantly improving, you’re admitting current conditions aren’t perfect—which contradicts the whole idea of achieved utopia.

Plus, perfection eliminates the drive to improve. When everything’s perfect, why change anything? But human nature requires challenges, problems to solve, goals to pursue. A perfect society with nothing to fix would be psychologically suffocating. We’d be miserable in paradise because we need struggle to feel alive.

Why Utopian Thinking Is Dangerous

Understanding that utopia is impossible isn’t depressing—it’s important. Because utopian thinking causes real harm.

Throughout history, people pursuing perfect societies have justified terrible things—violence, oppression, eliminating “problem” groups—telling themselves that paradise justifies any sacrifice. “Just a little more suffering and we’ll reach perfection” becomes the excuse for unlimited cruelty.

Utopian movements always fail because the goal is impossible. But they create tremendous damage trying. The French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, Stalin’s Soviet Union, Mao’s Cultural Revolution—all started with utopian visions and ended with mountains of corpses because leaders believed perfection was achievable and worth any cost.

When you accept that perfection is impossible, you stop accepting horrible trade-offs pursuing it. You start focusing on making things better rather than perfect. You build systems that handle problems rather than claiming to eliminate them.

What We Should Pursue Instead

The goal shouldn’t be utopia—universal perfect happiness. That’s impossible. The goal should be a society that works reasonably well for most people most of the time.

Not eliminating all problems—that’s impossible. But handling problems effectively when they arise. Not perfect agreement on everything—that’s impossible. But productive ways to navigate disagreement. Not infinite abundance—that’s impossible. But sufficient resources that most people can live decent lives.

Not heaven on earth—just earth that’s better than it was yesterday.

This is achievable. Utopia isn’t.

Final Thoughts

Every utopian vision throughout history has failed. Not because we haven’t been smart enough or tried hard enough, but because the goal itself is impossible.

People want different things. The most desired things can’t exist in abundance. Human satisfaction is temporary regardless of conditions. These aren’t problems to overcome—they’re fundamental realities that make utopia logically impossible.

Millions believe in utopias because the idea is seductive. Perfect happiness, no conflict, universal satisfaction—it sounds wonderful. But wanting something doesn’t make it possible.

Flying by flapping your arms sounds wonderful too. That doesn’t mean it’s achievable.

The sooner we accept that utopia can’t exist, the sooner we can focus on building societies that are good enough—imperfect but functional, flawed but improving, disappointing sometimes but livable most of the time.

That’s not utopia. But it’s real. And it’s the best we can actually achieve.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-good-life/202301/why-utopias-always-fail

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/08/utopian-thinking-danger/675234/