This is probably the fallacy most frequently encountered in political discussions. "Utopia" refers to the perfect society, a mythical place where everyone has everything they want all the time and nothing ever goes wrong. There has never been such a place and never will be on this earth. That doesn't stop the opponents of freedom from holding Utopia up as a standard. They will contend that freedom does not guarantee that everyone will be able to achieve anything they want; some will be disappointed or frustrated and there will still be murderers, thieves, rapists and other criminals. Because freedom does not guarantee Utopia, they argue, it should be rejected.
It is true: no advocate of freedom can guarantee Utopia.
So what?
No advocate of any political view can guarantee Utopia.
Utopia is not one of the options. It is simply not available...
When you hear someone object to the idea of greater freedom by saying, for example, "but you cannot
guarantee that all children will get a good education if we repeal compulsory school attendance laws," you are hearing the Utopian fallacy in one of its most common manifestations.
~ David Bergland,
Libertarianism in One Lesson, p. 8
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