If you've ever read Intuition Pumps And Other Tools For Thinking by Daniel Dennett then you may recall his idea of the Surely Alarm. Basically, when somebody speaks the word surely, they're usually implicitly asking you to grant them an assumption on which the rest of their argument rests. I've extended this notion to a number of other concepts for which I've set other mental alarms and the word utopia is one of them. When I encounter it, there's a little voice in the back of my mind reminding me that the word means "no place" - i.e. it doesn't exist.

Achieving a perfect society is impossible and it's foolish to think of perfection as anything other than an ideal. Just as with personal growth, so too is social progress a perpetual process. There's no final solution. No finish line. There will always be room for improvement. That's why we've evolved practices like reformism and incrementalism, as opposed to radicalism or revolutionism. Because real progress - meaningful, lasting progress - happens gradually. A discovery here. An innovation there. A social program there. And all these things compound and interact to create new discoveries and innovations and reforms. Over and over until, eventually, we take a step back and notice how much better off things are. Like going to the gym every day but not noticing the progress for weeks or months at a time.

Frankly, you'll do yourself a favor staying away from cynics and doomers like the people who hang out in places like r/collapse. Run with the dogs and you're gonna get fleas. Take control of your information diet. Be selective about the things you put in your head and the mental habits you cultivate. In the motorcycle world, there's a saying that you go where you look. If you fixate on the pothole or swerving car then you're going to ride into it and crash. Focus on the route you want to ride.