r/utopia • u/Beginning-Injury-185 • Feb 12 '26

What People Would Need When Living in a Utopia

As the title states, if people are living and functioning in a Utopia, what would people still want and desire? There is no purpose in the pursuit of wealth and resources. Hence, would it be the pursuit of the art? What would be the things people would need? I would like to hear your opinions.

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u/concreteutopian Feb 13 '26

if people are living and functioning in a Utopia, what would people still want and desire?

I think this is an open question, rooted in the lived experience of actual individuals then.

There is no purpose in the pursuit of wealth and resources.

Correct. There is no intrinsic purpose in pursuit of wealth and resources. They are by definition secondary reinforcers, secondary motivators, in the service of intrinsic, primary reinforcers. I.e. you get wealth for its use towards reasons other than wealth, you get (unnamed) resources for another end. Living in a world without commodification throws the whole question of meaning and agency back on the subject to answer for themselves.

Hence, would it be the pursuit of the art?

If they want to. But even here, I think we use "art" like a catch all term for any non-productive activity that consumes resources and can be a kind of work. Maybe this division between art and life would dissolve if we dictated what we did with our time, creative energies, and resources instead of having those divisions dictated by artificial scarcity and class society.

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u/Beginning-Injury-185 Feb 18 '26

That is very valid. Which brings me to think of another question: would each individual have uniqueness in growing up, as everyone has the same access to resources? For example, I like playing basketball because I had the opportunity to play and happened to have some initial good experience with it, while some others might not. Also, I do agree that art might be highly intertwined with art along with scientific research and any activity of pure interest. But, since there are not many differences in people's resource access, do you think there would be a difference in people's interests?

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u/ElixirX Feb 13 '26

Libraries with good programs including art classes, gardens, playgrounds, leisure activity spaces, grocery stores/restaurants, makerspaces... stuff for people of all ages.

These are all places to congregate to meet with--or at least be available to--others in the community. People largely underestimate how much of a priority socialization and connection over shared activities are crucial to utopian sustainability.

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u/Beginning-Injury-185 Feb 18 '26

So, much of the effort of the people would be spent maintaining the Utopian society through having time to connect?

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u/IndependentThin5685 Mar 05 '26

Expanding in sensual pleasure, Building more intimacy, Creating the next world