Utopias are generally said to be societies in which the political,
             social and economic troubles hampering its inhabitants has been done away with.
             Instead the state is there to serve the people and ensure the peacefulness and
             happiness of everyone. The word utopia, which means "no place" in Greek, was
             first used to mean a perfect society in 1516 in the publication of Saint Thomas
             More's story "Utopia". The story depicted life as it was with its people and
             social institutions on an imaginary island. More's Utopia gained critical
             acclaim and a wide audience. The term was subsequently used by all prominent
             social thinkers and visionaries to define other concepts of this kind.
             During the 19th century many attempts were made to actually establish
             communities which followed the beliefs of a utopian society. Most were
             experiments in utopian socialism. Although they differed considerably in their
             specific views, most of them agreed that ideal societies could be created
             without much difficulty. They felt all that was needed was to have the
             formation of a few small, cooperative communities made up of their followers.
             The comte de Saint-Simon regarded technological progress and large scale
             economic organization as being the most important keys to the establishment of
             these communities. It was felt that industrial growth was the key to happiness
             Another visionary, Fourier, was quite the opposite of Saint-Simon. He
             Spoke strongly against the use of industry. His opinion was that agricultural
             communities would be better suited for this situation. He favored these
             communities as he saw them as small, self-sufficient and more importantly, free
             from the restraints that were being imposed by civilization.
             Experimental societies based on the theories of the utopians were also
             set up in Europe and the Unites States. They included Robert Owen's cooperative
             communities in New Harmony, lnd.,...