A Different Goal for Utopia
The evolution in the social scientists' view of human nature, from the belief that people could control their lives to the belief that they couldn't, brought a change in the goal of the so called "Rational Socialism" utopia. Bellamy had believed that freedom of the individual was the highest goal of humanity, and that the system of "Rational Socialism" he described in his book could provide that freedom. He was wrong about his system, since no variety of socialism provides freedom, but nonetheless he did believe; freedom of the individual was the goal of the rational socialist utopia he described.
Freedom, obviously, is the ability to decide the course of one's life, to choose where to find satisfaction. The social scientists no longer believed people possessed this ability; instead they believed the satisfaction people achieved was a reflection of their environment. Social Scientists no longer believed humankind could control its actions or beliefs, and so there was no point trying to extend individual freedom; self-determination was just a myth.
Instead, the only freedom most people could hope for was freedom from strife and upheaval. The social scientists believed that people tend to be satisfied, if there is nothing disturbing them or making them unhappy, so this was now the goal of the "Rational Socialism" utopia: to protect people from upheaval and strife, to keep them safe and complacent so as not to disturb their satisfaction. The way to do this was by teaching harmony; if people could learn to get along with each other, it would remove the disruptions of conflict. The social scientists felt the power of government should be used to mold people into the group, and so make them content.
Not surprisingly, these social scientists held a rather negative view of individualism. To them, the thought that people controlled their lives was a lie. Individualism was an evil reflection of an evil system, which only served to perpetuate that system when a better alternative, socialism, was possible. Further, individualism was hindering the movement toward utopia by teaching people that each person had his or her own separate interests. To finally be able to embrace utopia, the social scientists realized it would be necessary to move beyond the value of individualism to that of " Societalism." Societalism, as well as being a more accurate description of people's reality, fostered harmony by teaching people to accept society's control and to find their definition and satisfaction in the group. It was only in a society based on societalism that the government would be able to take care of everyone.
Not all social scientists embraced "Rational Socialism" or the inequality of man; there were still, and for that matter are still many who believe in individualism and individual freedom. The reference to "social scientists" refers only to those who did embrace "Rational Socialism."