Social and technological aspects of the European utopia of Modern times

Abstract

The subject of the study is the social and technological aspects of the European utopia of Modern times. The European utopia was influenced by the most iconic images and plots of the ancient and Renaissance utopia. It embodied and reinterpreted the images and plot elements of the famous "State" of Plato, the utopias of T. More and T. Campanella, the model of the ideal Christian state presented in the treatise "Description of the Christianopolitan Republic" by I.V. Andre (1586-1654). The article gives a general description of the New European Utopianism based on the concepts of F. Bacon, S. de Bergerac, S. Fourier. If in the Middle Ages social inequality and injustice were considered an expression of the natural order of things or a consequence of the imperfection of human nature, then in later periods of history people begin to try to improve the life of society through changes in the political, economic and social structure. The scientific novelty of the research topic is due to the correlation of European Utopianism with the most pronounced socio-cultural characteristics of the era. In the Renaissance, the social utopia was considered by the authors in an inextricable relationship with the architectural and urban aspects of the formation of the human habitat. In the Modern era, social utopianism correlates with technological utopianism. The conclusions of the article include the characteristics of the utopia of the XVIII century, when the utopians' attention is most focused on the legislative and political organization of society, as well as the XIX century, when the optimal economic structure is considered the key to social well-being.