Chapter 14: Psychology as the Science of Human Plasticity

It is apt that in discussing utopia, a term he coined, Sir Thomas More (1478–1535) refers back to Plato’s (1967) conceptions of the ideal society as outlined in The Republic: Both men saw private ownership and wealth concentration as an obstacle to the ideal society; a judgment reached well before Marx (Marx & Engels, 1967/1848) set forth his ideal of the classless society. At least since the age of classical Greek scholarship, thinkers have put forward utopian ideals as a way to motivate and guide human thinking and action. Of course, the major religions have also attempted to use images of the ideal world, both during and after life, to motivate and guide believers. The bible, the Koran and the Torah all put forward images of utopia. Fundamentalist Muslims in Iran became inspired to revolution in part by the utopian image of the “Islamic Republic” articulated by Khomeini (1960/1979).