ABSTRACT
The Utopian tendency appears almost everywhere in history but, however diverse in content it may be, it always has some easily recognizable characteristics. First, utopia is constituted in opposition to the prevailing values of the society within which it was born. Moreover, it stands out because of its absolutism, which
may lead the followers of the ‘utopian sect’ to the utmost intolerance-both towards a corrupted world and towards those who are known to prevent the coming of the new order. Absolutism and authoritarianism are two attributes of Utopian behaviour that may, indeed, vary in intensity-ranging from the most uncompromising fanatacism to the kind of egotistic satisfaction that grows freely within those small, closed societies where happiness consists of living in a close and confined group. Being enclosed protects the Utopian society, both from outside corruption and from the threat of strangers. The enclosure may be either dictated-as in the case of convents-by an authority in the hierarchy, or desired-as is the case in the Fourierist utopia-by the Phalansterians themselves.
