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The Fate of Utopia: Adaptive Tactics in Four Japanese Groups
Author(s) -
PLATH DAVID W.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1966.68.5.02a00030
Subject(s) - utopia , state (computer science) , action (physics) , extension (predicate logic) , work (physics) , sociology , aesthetics , political science , law , art , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , algorithm , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
Utopian groups, like other kinds of revitalization movements, work to create a new “cultural end‐state.” This implies, at the very least, a mild rejection of some of the present norms and institutions of the ambient society. To be allowed to continue its work, a utopian community must adopt to the demands of its cultural milieu, but at the same time it must do so in ways consonant with the group self‐image. This essay reports on the adaptive tactics used by four Japanese utopian groups in dealing with present‐day state institutions and with the public at large. It argues that in the study of utopian groups—and by extension revitalizations and revolutions—we must examine adaptive tactics as carefully as group goals if we hope to understand the fate of purposeful action in complex civilizations.