An ideal society remains one of the most desired and yet unaccomplished visions of humanity. In philosophical literature, an ideal society is often referred to as a "utopia," but it remains unfulfilled. Philosophers and the greatest thinkers in the history of humanity have attempted to define the conditions that characterize an ideal society such as rules, conditions, and governance. However, there is no idea regarding what an ideal society should look like. Current societies that are characterized by suppression and exploitation are far from being ideal. To establish the reasons behind the current state of affairs, it is important to ask the most basic question- what is an ideal society? An ideal society is one characterized by liberty, equality, and justice.
An ideal society is one that treats all its people equally. However, achieving equality is not possible because all men are not equal. Some people have more to the betterment of society, which may lead to the argument that they should be treated preferentially to the masses. For example, society cannot treat individuals of great talent the same as it treats ordinary citizens because they are accorded more status and opportunities. Everyone is unique in his/her way, which means that we will never be equal. In an ideal society, people should be treated equally before eth law regardless of social status. Furthermore, people in an ideal society should be accorded equal opportunity in pursuit of their dreams and talent. One of the shortcomings of our current society is the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities. Some people have more access to opportunity than others, which has contributed to a stratified society (Gaus, 2016). For example, African Americans have limited economic opportunities compared to their white counterparts due to racial discrimination. In an ideal society, the government will ensure that policies are in place to promote equality in all spheres of life from education to employment. Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation would be prohibited.
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Nonetheless, the pursuit of equality in an ideal society would not mean attempts would be made to equalize all men. All civilizations that have tried to equalize all men have perished for the simple reason that all men are not equal. Communism failed because it ignored individual enterprise and could not accept individuals who got too big for their societies. Since talent is a characteristic of a person and not a group of people, society that has attempted to suppress individual talent to appear equal have failed. In an ideal society, people would be encouraged and supported their talents because they contribute to the betterment of society. The greatest invention in the history of humanity has been invented by people with exceptional talent (Gaus, 2016). Therefore, in an ideal society, people would be treated equally, but not equalized.
Considering that people are not equal, individuals in an ideal society would be ranked based income, education, and wealth. It will lead to the creation of social classes such as the upper, middle, and lower class. However, the society would offer equal opportunities to its citizens to pursue their talents. By giving equal access to its citizens through education, employment, and business, the society would ensure that everyone has the chance to climb the social ladder and achieve his/her potential. The social ranking that is based on race, gender, and power would be prohibited. Any form of discrimination based on these traits would be illegalized to ensure that social classes that are based on them do not emerge.
Gender roles will not be present in the ideal society. For the ideal society to be successful, all members must be productive (Bluestone, 1987). Therefore, women and men would be given access to the same opportunities. The society would not dictate what men and women ought to do. Women would have the freedom to pursue their talents without restrictions being imposed on them by societal expectations regarding gender. Since gender roles would be absent in the ideal society, tasks would be divided based on skill and ability to perform (Bluestone, 1987). Communities, social groups, and families would assign a task to the individual who can perform it based. Gender will not be a deciding factor in assigning tasks and responsibilities, but ability and talent.
Value systems are important for any society to function properly. The value system of the ideal society would be honesty integrity, hard work, kindness, and transparency. These values determine the behaviors of individual members are and useful in differentiating acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. From a young age, children will be socialized into these value system. The educational system adopted in an ideal society would promote these values.
Social control will be important in ensuring that the society maintains its value system and norms. The legal and judicial system that will be adopted in the ideal society will ensure balance and safety. Distributive, procedural, and restorative justice would be pursued by the judicial system of an ideal society. Distributive justice ensures that fairness is maintained in the distribution of resources. Procedural justice ensures that fairness is followed in the distribution of resources (Palekar, 1997). Restorative justice will be adopted to restore things to their initial state. Instead of using retributive justice on all occasions, restorative justice will help in reducing the offenders in the society's correctional institutions. The use of retributive justice will be minimized because it does not help in reducing the re-offending rates.
An ideal society is one that is peaceful. The reality is that peace is an illusion as long as jealousy, greed and violence remain inherent traits associated with human beings. Altruism, non-violence, and love are some of the ideals that people pretend or strive to achieve. In our current society, peace is achieved through more violence or cruelty. The peace we see is one that is enforced through fear, which is not the trait of an ideal society. In an ideal society, true peace would be possible if the residents are free from negative characteristics such as jealousy and greed. Peaceful coexistence between members would be encouraged to ensure that conflicts and rivalries are resolved in the most amicable way possible.
An ideal society should be just. The definition of "justice" remains controversial because the basic premises of justice vary according to societies. An examination of "justice" raises important questions (Palekar, 1997). For example, laws vary according to country (society), time, and type of government. Additionally, laws are not the same for people in the same country. Although countries are inhabited by human beings, laws vary from one country to another. The laws in Saudi Arabia and different from the laws in the United States. In an ideal society, laws will be implemented to ensure it serves the interests of all citizens. In most countries, laws are framed powerful individuals, and they create laws that serve their interests. In an ideal society, all citizens would be involved in the creation of laws to ensure that the interests of ordinary citizens are safeguarded. To prevent powerful individuals from amending the laws, any changes to these laws should involve the public through referendums.
The other characteristic of an ideal society is freedom. Freedom is the greatest human value because it gives individuals the opportunity to achieve their potentials through creativity. It is considered a unique activity because it erases all negative and evil emotions while at it. The happiest people are found in societies that accorded the most freedom to its members ( Pohl, 2016) . However, freedom cannot be unconditional. In an ideal society, the pursuit one's freedom should not infringe on another person's freedom. Freedom to do harm, kill, rob, or exploit would not be tolerated ( Plato, Taylor, & Jacobs, 2010) .
Therefore, freedom in the ideal society will be regulated, which brings out the question of which form of governance suits an ideal society. Since freedom is the primary value in an ideal society, the form of governance that accords the greatest freedom would be adopted (Palekar, 1997). Individuals tend to enjoy more freedom where there is less governance. Thoreau's conclusion that the "best government is no government at all" would not be adopted. Human beings have reached a state where no governance is required. At the moment, we are not free from our weaknesses, and the lack of governance would give some people the freedom to violate the freedoms of others. Although democracy has an inherent weakness, it would be the best form of governance in an ideal society Pohl, 2016) . Since democracies are representative, people would be able to choose the best leaders during an election. To prevent the rich from manipulating elections, campaign funding would be strictly regulated. Furthermore, candidates for an election would be vetted to ensure that persons with moral issues are removed from taking part in elections. A strict vetting process would also ensure that the electorate does not swap a bad leader for another one during an election.
Comte, Spencer, and Marx offered a different explanation of their ideal society. After experiencing the upheavals of the French revolution, Comte favored a society in which the government has significant power to regulate public life (Palekar, 1997). Comte argued for a society in which hierarchical organizations has unquestionable authority over every aspect of life. In Comte's ideal society, the individual is subordinate to communal life.
On the other hand, Herbert Spencer argues for an ideal society in which the government's powers are minimal. He supported a society that promotes individual freedoms. According to Spencer, human nature in an ideal society will be shaped by social discipline to the point where no external restraint from the state will be required. Furthermore, Spencer pointed out that the individual in an ideal society would require no interference from the state.
According to Marx, an ideal society is based on the idea of communism. According to Marx, communism is the best solution to the problems caused by capitalism because it resolves the conflict between freedom and necessity. He argued for the need for men to exert practical force in the implementation of ideas. However, Marx failed to provide the guidelines and principles for his theory, which left it open to different interpretations ( Plato, Taylor, & Jacobs, 2010) . It is the reason why communism has failed in most societies because it attempts to equalize all men and suppress any talent. Herbert Spencer offers the best perspective that suits an ideal society. He argued for a society in which the powers of the government should be minimized, which individual freedom should be given priority. Comte's perspectives on an ideal society fit a real society because human beings have not matured to the point where no governance is required.
Although an ideal society remains an illusion based on the state of affairs in our current societies, it is characterized by limited or no control by the government. Equality, peace, justice and freedom are the cornerstones of an ideal society. Freedom is the basic value of an ideal society; however, freedom needs to be regulated so that a person cannot infringe on the freedoms of others. Considering that societies with minimal government enjoy the most freedom, it is important to select the best form of governance that promotes individual freedom. The philosophical views offered by Herbert Spencer suits an ideal society.
References
Bluestone, N. H. (1987). Women and the ideal society: Plato's Republic and modern myths of gender. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
Gaus, G. (2016). The open society as a rule-based order. Erasmus Journal For Philosophy & Economics, 9(2), 1-13.
Palekar, S. A. (1997). Concept of equality and ideal society: Basaveshwara's model. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.
Plato, Taylor, T., & Jacobs, A. (2010). Plato's Republic: A vision of truth, justice, and the ideal society . London: Watkins Pub.
Pohl, N. (2016). The Renaissance Utopia: Dialogue, Travel and the Ideal Society. Renaissance Quarterly , 69(1), 357-359.
