[Hans_Holbein,_the_Younger_ _Sir_Thomas_More_ _Google_Art_Project]Hans Holbein The word "utopia" is made up of two Greek words, together meaning "no place." The word suggests that no place on Earth could possibly be perfectly egalitarian, free of conflict, and sustainable. That didn't stop people from trying, however. The Puritans believed in creating a utopia while escaping the Protestants in the 1600s. In the 1960s, as hippie subculture was at its apex, people again strove to form utopian settlements. Today, the tech elite are putting new kinds of utopian projects forward, promising total sustainability, the end of cooking, and other modern communal living concepts that people in previous centuries could only dream of. Since dreaming of utopia is not a new phenomenon, it's important to look back and learn about the attempts people have already made to build perfect societies. Here are brief histories of a few utopian settlements, and where they are today — if they're still around. THE HANCOCK SHAKER VILLAGE WAS FOUNDED IN 1783. Richard Taylor/Wikimedia Commons An 18th century utopian settlement that promoted celibacy, pacifism, and self-sustaining homesteading, the Hancock Shaker Village was founded by Joseph Meacham and Lucy Wright. The Shaker sect of Christianity, which still exists, emphasizes gender rights, communal living, and socializing through song and dance. The Shakers got their name through their ceremonial dances, where they'd appear to shake. The Hancock Shaker Village was the third of 19 built around New England, New York, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. BUT THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION DROVE MEMBERS AWAY, WHITTLING DOWN MEMBERSHIP. Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism The Hancock Shaker Village hit its peak in 1840, when it owned 3,000 acres of land and had over 300 members. But during the Industrial Revolution, members of the village started moving to cities. By 1900, only 50 members remained. Buildings started to get demolished, and some of the land was sold off. In the 1960s, a few remaining members of the village decided to preserve it. You can still visit Hancock Shaker Village's remaining 750 acres today, where over a dozen houses are preserved. There's also still an active Shaker community in Maine. BROOK FARM WAS STARTED IN 1841. Berkshire Country Day School/Flickr Brook Farm was a transcendentalist utopian settlement close to Boston that attracted many intellectuals curious about forming the perfect agrarian society. The community was founded by George Ripley, a transcendentalist and former Unitarian Universalist minister, along with his wife Sophia and a group of 15 other members. The Ripleys wanted the settlement to uphold classically transcendental values: humane, non-toxic relationships and harmony with the land. The community also valued daily physical labor, calling it an exercise in mental as well as physical well-being. Labor was meant to be distributed in a way that prevented classism. "Everyone must labor for the community in a reasonable degree, or not taste its system in operation," Elizabeth Peabody, a Brook Farm resident, wrote in 1842. By working 300 days, a Brook Farm member would receive free tuition at the community school and a year's worth of room and board, according to Mental Floss. SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDER
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