What is Idealism and Utopianism?

[EvilRedGuy]

People call Communism Idealistic and Utopian, should we embrace the idea that we are Idealistic and Utopian?

[StoneFrog]

No.

Communism is neither Utopian nor idealistic, its just a way they try and make your arguments irrelevant.

[EvilRedGuy]

Well there is no such thing as "Utopian" because there is no final society, society is always changing.

[Nox]

Utopian essentially means 'too good to be true'

Idealistic means unrealistic

[Savage]

We support the existing material movement towards the abolition of class society, not a set if ideals to be realized and put into practice.

[ZeroNowhere]

Idealism is a philosophical view which holds thought to be ontologically prior to materiality. It is implicitly religious in character. Utopianism is the conjuration of utopias in the mind and the declaration that only they are rational and moral, which hence disregards the historical process and existing society in favour of proclaiming castles in the sky. Rather than concrete human reason, we have reason equated with various fantasies of a model society.

Engels summarizes utopian socialism here: "The solution of the social problems, which as yet lay hidden in undeveloped economic conditions, the Utopians attempted to evolve out of the human brain. Society presented nothing but wrongs; to remove these was the task of reason. It was necessary, then, to discover a new and more perfect system of social order and to impose this upon society from without by propaganda, and, wherever it was possible, by the example of model experiments. These new social systems were foredoomed as Utopian; the more completely they were worked out in detail, the more they could not avoid drifting off into pure phantasies." This text (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/ch01.htm) may help when it comes to utopianism, while this (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1886/ludwig-feuerbach/index.htm) may be useful when it comes to idealism.

[Catmatic Leftist]

Idealism is a philosophical view which holds thought to be ontologically prior to materiality. It is implicitly religious in character. Utopianism is the conjuration of utopias in the mind and the declaration that only they are rational and moral, which hence disregards the historical process and existing society in favour of proclaiming castles in the sky. Rather than concrete human reason, we have reason equated with various fantasies of a model society.

Engels summarizes utopian socialism here: "The solution of the social problems, which as yet lay hidden in undeveloped economic conditions, the Utopians attempted to evolve out of the human brain. Society presented nothing but wrongs; to remove these was the task of reason. It was necessary, then, to discover a new and more perfect system of social order and to impose this upon society from without by propaganda, and, wherever it was possible, by the example of model experiments. These new social systems were foredoomed as Utopian; the more completely they were worked out in detail, the more they could not avoid drifting off into pure phantasies." This text (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/ch01.htm) may help when it comes to utopianism, while this (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1886/ludwig-feuerbach/index.htm) may be useful when it comes to idealism.

Possibly the BEST explanation I've ever seen. Thanks. :)