One of the most powerful forces that has shaped human social evolution for thousands of years is the utopian drive. Everyone seeks to find seemingly perfect conditions in which they can thrive and live out their existence in happiness. The places in our world where obstacles inhibit or deny this drive are the places with the most brutal conflicts and intense human suffering. The headlines that often dominate our news from the Middle East attest to this reality, where some Palestinians will go so far as to blow themselves up with their enemies in the cause of restoring their people's old way of life and the freedoms now denied them.
"Utopian" and "utopianism" are words associated with impossibly idealistic, visionary reform. …
