--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is, however, another avenue of…" description: "\"“There is, however, another avenue of utopian thought, one that is all but forgotten. If the blueprint is a high-resolution photo, then this utopia is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/rutger-bregman-2463_common-people_there-is-however-another-avenue-of-utopi_1627892.jpg" --- # There is, however, another avenue of utopian thought, one… ![“There is, however, another avenue of utopian thought, one that is all but forgotten. If the blueprint is a high-resolution photo, then this utopia is just a vague outline. It offers not solutions but guideposts. Instead of forcing us into a straitjacket, it inspires us to change. And it…” quote by Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/rutger-bregman-2463_common-people_there-is-however-another-avenue-of-utopi_1627892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/rutger-bregman-2463_common-people_there-is-however-another-avenue-of-utopi_1627892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/rutger-bregman-2463_common-people_there-is-however-another-avenue-of-utopi_1627892.jpg) > ““There is, however, another avenue of utopian thought, one that is all but forgotten. If the blueprint is a high-resolution photo, then this utopia is just a vague outline. It offers not solutions but guideposts. Instead of forcing us into a straitjacket, it inspires us to change. And it understands that, as Voltaire put it, the perfect is the enemy of the good. As one American philosopher has remarked, “any serious utopian thinker will be made uncomfortable by the very idea of the blueprint.”23 It was in this spirit that the British philosopher Thomas More literally wrote the book on utopia (and coined the term). Rather than a blueprint to be ruthlessly applied, his utopia was, more than anything, an indictment of a grasping aristocracy that demanded ever more luxury as common people lived in extreme poverty. More understood that utopia is dangerous when taken too seriously. “One needs to be able to believe passionately and also be able to see the absurdity of one’s own beliefs and laugh at them,” observes philosopher and leading utopia expert Lyman Tower Sargent. Like humor and satire, utopias throw open the windows of the mind. And that’s vital. As”” [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that utopian ideas should be flexible guides, not rigid blueprints, warning against perfectionism that hinders progress. **In simple terms:** Utopias are guiding ideas, not exact plans. Key Takeaway Use utopian visions as inspiration, not strict directives. Themes philosophy utopia perfectionism guidance humor Mood reflective thoughtful critical Type philosophical educational inspirational When to use this quote - policy design - educational curricula - public discourse Key Concepts critical thinking creative imagination social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance idealism with practicality? - What benefits arise from viewing utopias as satirical tools? A Different Perspective Rigid blueprints can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-people/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Satire Utopias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satire-utopias-358939/) [Understood Utopia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-utopia-358938/) [Utopia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopia/) [Utopia Coined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopia-coined-358937/) [Utopian Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopian-thinker-358936/) [Utopian Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopian-thought-358935/) ## Related quotes > [“Immature thought is predominately purposive and utopian. Thought which rejects purpose altogether is the thought of old age. 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Fired with evil passions, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/the-common-people-feel-themselves-oppressed-by-the-grasping-of-some/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [Where there is no danger of overt action there is rarely any interference with freedom. That is why there has so often been amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/where-there-is-no-danger-of-overt-action-there-is-rarely-any/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [That wise Men have in all Ages thought Government necessary for the Good of Mankind; and, that wise Governments have always thought Religion necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/that-wise-men-have-in-all-ages-thought-government-necessary-for-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Because the Indians are planning to start war now, the common people want all of them destroyed so that they can live in peace;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-martin-boltzius/because-the-indians-are-planning-to-start-war-now-the-common-people/) [Johann Martin Boltzius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-martin-boltzius/) > [History more often records the brilliant successes and spectacular defeats of contending forces than the effect of war on the common people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mildred-cable/history-more-often-records-the-brilliant-successes-and-spectacular/) [Mildred Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mildred-cable/) > [Adventure is the invitation to common people to become uncommon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-miller/adventure-is-the-invitation-to-common-people-to-become-uncommon/) [Warren Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-miller/) > [“To riot or not to riot, that is the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/to-riot-or-not-to-riot-that-is-the-question/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Government not just for a few, it belongs to the common people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/government-not-just-for-a-few-it-belongs-to-the-common-people/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [“For rulers, religion is a great tool to rule the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/for-rulers-religion-is-a-great-tool-to-rule-the-common-people/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) ## More by Rutger Bregman > [“If all the developed countries would let in just 3% more immigrants, the world’s poor would have $305 billion more to spend, say scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/if-all-the-developed-countries-would-let-in-just-3-more-immigrants/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“When Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, 2008, and inaugurated the biggest crisis since the 1930s, there were no real alternatives to hand. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/when-lehman-brothers-collapsed-on-september-15-2008-and-inaugurated/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [I think one of the most important facts of basic income would be that it's not only a redistribution of income, but also of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/i-think-one-of-the-most-important-facts-of-basic-income-would-be-that/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [The great thing about money is that people can use it to buy things they need instead of things self-appointed experts think they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-great-thing-about-money-is-that-people-can-use-it-to-buy-things/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“The idea that the GDP still serves as an accurate gauge of social welfare is one of the most widespread myths of our times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-idea-that-the-gdp-still-serves-as-an-accurate-gauge-of-social/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Most of Mark Zuckerberg's income is just rent collected off the millions of picture and video posts that we give away daily for free.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/most-of-mark-zuckerberg-s-income-is-just-rent-collected-off-the/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“To calculate the GDP, numerous data points have to be linked together and hundreds of wholly subjective choices made regarding what to count and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/to-calculate-the-gdp-numerous-data-points-have-to-be-linked-together/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Countless studies have shown that people who work less are more satisfied with their lives.37 In a recent poll conducted among working women, German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/countless-studies-have-shown-that-people-who-work-less-are-more/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Precisely when we should be shouldering the historic task of investing this rich, safe, and healthy existence with meaning, we’ve buried utopia instead. There’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/precisely-when-we-should-be-shouldering-the-historic-task-of/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Believing in the good of humanity is a revolutionary act - it means that we don't need all those managers and CEO's, kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/believing-in-the-good-of-humanity-is-a-revolutionary-act-it-means/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Poor people aren't making dumb decisions because they are dumb, but because they're living in a context in which anyone would make dumb decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/poor-people-aren-t-making-dumb-decisions-because-they-are-dumb-but/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“The bottom line is that wealth can be concentrated somewhere, but that doesn’t also mean that’s where it’s being created. 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That is why there has so often been amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/where-there-is-no-danger-of-overt-action-there-is-rarely-any/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [The common people feel themselves oppressed by the grasping of some, and their vanity is flattered by others. Fired with evil passions, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/the-common-people-feel-themselves-oppressed-by-the-grasping-of-some/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [“I've said this before: a lot of people think they're artists because they feel things deeply. 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The common conventions of humanity-' 'Are all very well for common people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-say-the-common-conventions-of-humanity-are-all-very-well-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People, the common people, can genuinely see what I'm doing. Moreover, people know that I have adopted four principles in living my life: simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-sattar-edhi/people-the-common-people-can-genuinely-see-what-i-m-doing-moreover/) [Abdul Sattar Edhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-sattar-edhi/) > [“In a sense the rise of Anabaptism was no surprise. Most revolutionary movements produce a wing of radicals who feel called of God to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-l-shelley/in-a-sense-the-rise-of-anabaptism-was-no-surprise-most-revolutionary/) [Bruce L. Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-l-shelley/) [Browse all 297 Common people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is, however, another avenue of utopian thought, one that is all but forgotten. If the blueprint is a high-resolution photo, then this utopia is just a vague outline. It offers not solutions but guideposts. Instead of forcing us into a straitjacket, it inspires us to change. And it understands that, as Voltaire put it, the perfect is the enemy of the good. As one American philosopher has remarked, “any serious utopian thinker will be made uncomfortable by the very idea of the blueprint.”23 It was in this spirit that the British philosopher Thomas More literally wrote the book on utopia (and coined the term). Rather than a blueprint to be ruthlessly applied, his utopia was, more than anything, an indictment of a grasping aristocracy that demanded ever more luxury as common people lived in extreme poverty. More understood that utopia is dangerous when taken too seriously. “One needs to be able to believe passionately and also be able to see the absurdity of one’s own beliefs and laugh at them,” observes philosopher and leading utopia expert Lyman Tower Sargent. Like humor and satire, utopias throw open the windows of the mind. And that’s vital. 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