The notion of a perfect world is a dangerous one. And yet, almost everyone chases it in one way or another. Dreaming is a large part of being human. Our capacity to envision a future and work with determination and passion towards that vision is an amazing gift. But often, we work towards “perfect” with a presupposed definition of what perfect even means; we work towards it through our own definitions. For someone in a position of social privilege, “perfect” is far too often a reflection of themselves and their culture. “Utopia” was born out of Thomas More’s social location while lacking a recognition of how his social context was privileged. In doing so, More created a world that presupposed that a White society would be the best society,
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The civilization began to subconsciously posit itself above criticism and above any other nation or body in the world. Their psychological compartmentalization of bodies by color and culture led to a worldview that perceived any possible threat outside of Europe as “monstrous, depraved and treacherous,” while upholding the English identity as “normal….civilized and cultured” (Gutierrez, 44). They constructed themselves, as Gutierrez puts it, “as civilized, chosen -- as white” (41). Such a delineation operates on what she explains as the “color/whiteness binary” (37). On such a binary, whiteness is privileged and racism, imperialism, and colonialism thrive. This mindset also resulted in the presupposed goodness and “supremacy of White civilization” (Scheurich and Young, 7). The civilization’s first justification for actions was often their supposed inherent goodness and purity, regardless of the harms they may have created. This mindset was institutionalized by the European government who carried the power of defining, “who is a member….who is a foreigner” (Triandafyllidou, 593.) Racial rationales were central to decisions on this. Due to the racialization of the ‘Other’, anyone existing outside of Europe or any non-white person was seen as a potential threat to the country. The institutionalization of whiteness made it particularly dangerous because the state had the power to then act on such perceptions …show more content…
Gutierrez names this specific characteristic as “an extreme…solipsistic energy,” a “cultural inward-lookingness” (43). The Utopian’s world is entirely isolated, cut off from the world, which enables it to establish European culture to the fullest extent. Utopian culture actively discouraged “any sympathy and tolerance of other cultures,” it “enslave[d] its people who [tried] to leave,” and “reward[ed] conformity,” while crushing individualism (Gutierrez, 43). Such a perception, permits ignorance and disregard for other cultures which works to uphold the dominant culture while subverting or even demonizing minority cultures. By cutting off their interaction with other cultures, More ensured that Utopia would remain a pure, white, chosen
The civilization began to subconsciously posit itself above criticism and above any other nation or body in the world. Their psychological compartmentalization of bodies by color and culture led to a worldview that perceived any possible threat outside of Europe as “monstrous, depraved and treacherous,” while upholding the English identity as “normal….civilized and cultured” (Gutierrez, 44). They constructed themselves, as Gutierrez puts it, “as civilized, chosen -- as white” (41). Such a delineation operates on what she explains as the “color/whiteness binary” (37). On such a binary, whiteness is privileged and racism, imperialism, and colonialism thrive. This mindset also resulted in the presupposed goodness and “supremacy of White civilization” (Scheurich and Young, 7). The civilization’s first justification for actions was often their supposed inherent goodness and purity, regardless of the harms they may have created. This mindset was institutionalized by the European government who carried the power of defining, “who is a member….who is a foreigner” (Triandafyllidou, 593.) Racial rationales were central to decisions on this. Due to the racialization of the ‘Other’, anyone existing outside of Europe or any non-white person was seen as a potential threat to the country. The institutionalization of whiteness made it particularly dangerous because the state had the power to then act on such perceptions …show more content…
Gutierrez names this specific characteristic as “an extreme…solipsistic energy,” a “cultural inward-lookingness” (43). The Utopian’s world is entirely isolated, cut off from the world, which enables it to establish European culture to the fullest extent. Utopian culture actively discouraged “any sympathy and tolerance of other cultures,” it “enslave[d] its people who [tried] to leave,” and “reward[ed] conformity,” while crushing individualism (Gutierrez, 43). Such a perception, permits ignorance and disregard for other cultures which works to uphold the dominant culture while subverting or even demonizing minority cultures. By cutting off their interaction with other cultures, More ensured that Utopia would remain a pure, white, chosen