The purpose of my thesis is to explore the fundamental ideas behind a "perfect" state where there exists a balance in the private, social, and political lives of citizens. This research first considers basic biological and psychological needs of humanity. Then, it considers some of the fundamental political, utopian philosophies regarding the organization of people into an ideal society. After that, dystopian fiction provides a contrasting viewpoint to explore the needs of the individual. By contrasting utopian and dystopian genres, readers might better understand the difference between utopian theory and practice scenarios posed by dystopian novelists. There are some fundamental discrepancies between utopian thought regarding the perceived needs of the body politic and the needs of the individual citizen, and while attempting to reconcile these differences, this thesis uses utopian and dystopian works to lay some foundational principles that propose how one person might best thrive within a larger community.
