How successful were the utopian communities founded by socialist thinkers?

Question

A. Few utopian communities lasted very long; most fell apart when the members got tired of the rules and decided to leave.

B. Socialist thinkers never actually founded any communities, they just wrote about the communities they wanted to create.

C. Utopian communities in the United States were very successful; some lasted more than 100 years.

D. Utopian communities were very successful until local governments shut them down by force.

Answer 1

I have not seen a successful Utopian community, nor am I aware of the existence of one that lasted more than a 100 years in the United States, please render an example.
Most communal, Utopian, socialist, communities and philosophies lack one major concept, the desire of man to choose his own path, and make his own way. The concept of sacrificing for the greater good is OK when you are part of the greater good, but when one gets the impression that one is the sacrifice(er) then one tends to feel that they can do better alone. The are numerous examples of such experiments. The Pilgrims had the same philosophy when the came to the new world, and they nearly starved to death.

People work best for themselves, people can provide for themselves better than anyone else can provide for them or any comity or government.

Answer 2

The association of the word Utopian to the word socialist is incorrect. The word Utopian is an afterthought, a condemnation of history. Real societies adapt to changing needs, and therefore are never perfect. On the other hand there have been many experiments in the conception of the social contract, not all of them socialist, not all of them in the west.
The assumption that individual motivation is the engine of society is easily proven false by the myriad of societies throughout history that have successfully persisted with collectivistic world views... and example would be Tibetan monasteries and many Native American and Caribbean tribes. Some people call these, derisively, anthropological communism, but the truth is that very little debate has been allowed on the subject.
In the modern world, political experiments have all been silenced by the US. There is no good measure of the success of Manley's, Nasser's, Lenin's, Allende's, or even Debs' because they were all overwhelmingly attacked by the US.
I have heard some say, in their cynicism, that if the USSR could not withstand the attack on the part of the US then it was not a strong system. The truth is that if the US were embargoed for 60 years its fate would be the same.

Answer 3

the answer is B

There aren't any. Socialism by nature is flawed. People are not ants, they need to express their individuality, which is what socialism tries to repress. No consistently socialist system to date has built a successful, vibrant economy, which increases standards of living and can compete with market economies, which are based on a philosophy of Individualism (people are free to win, and they are free to fail.)

The Soviet Union was built on firm socialist principles. Within years, if not months, it descended into tyranny and ruin. Socialist apologists point to early US aggression, but this is simply ficticious. In the early years, American and European private contractors were welcomed, and thus flocked, into the USSR, due to Russia's massive natural resource base, and labor base. Once the proper infrastructure for exploiting these resources were in place, the Soviet Union nationalized the property without just compensation. This lasted until the 1940's, which is coincidental with the age of the USSR's industrial plants at the time of its dissolution. In a mere 80 years, the once growing Russian economy had fallen into shambles. At the time of its dissolution in the 90's there was still rubble in the streets from World War II, and dangerous, polluting factories that had been built in the 20's, which churned out meaningless quotas of goods without regard to their market value, this resulted in chronic shortages in certain goods, and worthless surplusses in others.

The closer a country comes to socialism, the further into ruin it slides.

European "lite socialism" has resulted in a stagnant economy, barely registering growth with a declining population. Cuba was the most robust economy in the Caribbean until Castro and his thugs turned it into one of the feeblest. North Korea is one of the most socialized nations on Earth, and is also one of the poorest. How many other nations do you know use famine as a tool to cull a population?

Nowadays, we are seeing it with Venezuela, Hugo Chavez preaches his own "socialism with a smile", and the situation is rapidly becoming dire for the Venezuelan economy.

The so called "Socialist Utopias" are little more than the pipe dreams of limousine liberals, you know the type: they roll down the window on their Limousine and go on about how everyone needs to sacrifice more, then roll the window back up as they continue on to their Leer jet to take them to a party in San Fransisco. As Congressman Ron Paul once said "It sure is easy to be generous with someone else's money."

Answer 4

B. I don't remember any major socialist utopian communities. But don't take my word for it. Do your own studies.

Answer 5

how about the amish? its not completey socialist, but their trade is not based on cash. when one person needs help, the whole community chips in. for example, when a community members barn burns down, the entire community helps build a new one.

Answer 6

The answer is "A".


Brook Farm
Oneida
New Harmony were all examples of these colonies and all of them had "A" happen to them.

Answer 7

the answer is A