We’d Rather Be Living in These 6 Sci-Fi Utopias

The Commonwealth, The Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F. Hamilton
The Commonwealth is far from perfect. Of the characters we see, most of them are rich, or they designed the infrastructure of the Commonwealth in the first place, or they are actively fighting against it for unclear reasons. But what is clear that if the Commonwealth isn’t already a utopia, it’s well on the way. People are able to rejuvenate their bodies and style themselves however they wish, most of the characters are on their second or third lifetime (and anyway, death’s pretty much a thing of the past), and interstellar travel is done via the second coolest method of conveyance ever developed by humanity: trains. Yes, it has its shortcomings, but even if it isn’t perfect, the inhabitants can at least see perfection from their houses.

The Culture, The Player of Games, by Iain M. Banks
Some of you may be wondering why I’m singling out this particular volume from the vast expanse of novels in Banks’s operatic sci-fi shared universe. Well, while much of the series explores the darker side of a post-scarcity society in which humans live carefree and vast artificial intelligences handle the messy business of running the galaxy, The Player of Games spends at least its first act showing the Culture at its best. Special Circumstances, the arm of the Culture responsible for “influencing” the fates of ways of life that might threaten its existence, hang out in the background while the genderfluid members of this lavish utopia spend their time sculpting continents and taking board games way too seriously. Humanity wants for nothing and is free to indulge its every whim. Live and let live is the motto, and even viruses seems to be either beneficial or strictly for entertainment value. What makes the Culture really unique, though, is that not only is it a utopia, but if people aren’t jerks, and if they follow the rules of the safe space, it’s actually willing to share its advancements with others.

The Kesh, Always Coming Home, by Ursula K. Le Guin
A reaction to what is seen as “the sickness of man,” the Kesh are a society based on a tribal structure. While they use some modern technology, they prefer to live in smaller villages and work as hunter-gatherers, eschewing most modern forms of government, structure, and disbelief to embrace a more holistic and spiritual view. The Kesh manage to live off the land they have, share easily, and are vehemently against expansionism or taking more than they need. Always Coming Home doesn’t just stop at depicting Kesh society through narrative, however, delivering a fully annotated document of their culture, religions, recipes, and songs. It’s a fully illustrated portrait of Le Guin’s perfect society.

Little Belairs, Engine Summer, by John Crowley
In the not too distant future of Engine Summer, humans have more or less settled into a post-technological society. It may be large, maze-like, and ignorant of much of human history, but its people are happy, and the oral tradition keeps the ideas of angels (the precursors who uplifted humanity) and the saints (people whose examples and parables live on) alive. Also rare for science fiction and fantasy: a sprawling, fantastical city that isn’t dystopian, nor full of unknown dangers. The outside world may be kind of a bizarre mess, but Little Belairs and its enclaves are wondrous, magical, and significantly safer.

The Darknet, Freedom™, by Daniel Suarez
Built by an insane MMO designer and his semi-intelligent computer virus, the Darknet is one part small and sustainable anarchist enclave, where everyone has a role and pitches in, and one part insanely massive multiplayer ARG, where people earn XP that lets them unlock new hacking abilities based on how helpful they are to the community. That it’s a workable decentralized utopia might be cold comfort, considering the world is essentially ruled by the same people who hang out on imageboards and deep web sites, but enough has gone right in the new world order that it looks miles rosier than the festering pit of despair the Darknet violently dismantled to build its new paradise [Editor’s note: Twitter?]. As an added bonus, its communities seem to be more or less self-policed in a fairly non-violent manner.

Mattapoisett, Woman on the Edge of Time, by Marge Piercy
Connie Ramos, the heroine of Woman on the Edge of Time, constantly sees glimpses of an androgynous young woman named Luciente, who tells her of a time when most of the ills of the world are gone; people are treated with dignity regardless of their gender, race, or sexuality; and humans live in a communal agrarian society. Again, like every utopia on here, it isn’t perfect (probably because we’d question a perfect utopia), since they still have war and the death penalty (because, as Luciente herself says, “We don’t think it’s right to kill…only convenient.”) In spite of that, a truly just society still sounds like an ideal goal. Let’s hope we get there.
Where would you rather be living today?