Utopian vision is the idea of the ideal society. The ideal society is one wherein people have entitlement to human rights, people are prosperous and progressive, and their dignity is above irrespective of their race, colour, ethnicity, sex, creed and religion. In this kind of society, social equality and justice prevail and people are free from the fear of insecurity. Policies are good if there is betterment in the lives of people and sustainable development takes place. Contrastingly, bad policies are those policies which have increased human suffering, widened the gap between different socio-economic groups and excluded any segment of society. In the history of mankind, various events changed the direction of social development. People challenged the status quo to desire more prosperity, power, and freedom. Inventions, discoveries, advanced technology, and an expanding medical field are evidence that a utopian vision can produce positive change in society. However, sometimes the idea of an ideal society at the exclusion of others proved detrimental to human civilization. War crime, slave trade, genocide, curbing of freedom, Islamophobia, and racism manifest that myopic vision when materialized can produce an unlivable world. Imagining how a society should be culturally, morally and economically is reasonable. However, if the thought of the welfare of society depends upon extremism, authoritarianism, and racism, then the materialization of the thought would be dangerous for human civilization. In this contemporary era, a utopian vision produces both good policies and bad policies. War crime, slave trade, genocide, curbing of freedom, Islamophobia, and racism manifest that myopic vision when materialized can produce an unlivable world. Let us begin with good policies first. For instance, the inception of Pakistan is the product of the vision of the forefathers of Pakistan. Although Muslims got a separate electorate in the 1909 MintoMorley Reforms, it was the rule of Congress in 1937 that made Muslim leaders realize that an independent country was necessary to exercise their political, economic and civil rights. Even though after independence, Pakistan struggled with its own political and socio-economic issues, it does not mean that the people of the region would have been better if Pakistan was not carved out of India. Similarly, Vietnam and Japan were worn-torn countries of the 20th century. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were nuclear-bombed by the USA in 1945. Nevertheless, the determination to restructure the society has made Japan the third largest economy and internationally significant country. Similarly, in 2024 Vietnam’s Human Development Index (HDI) ranking is 107 out of 193 countries which indicates that their education, health, and economic sectors are performing well. Likewise, as the Ozone layer was depleted over Antarctica, the international community the Montreal Protocol in 1987 under the banner of the United Nations Environment Programme. The protocol prohibited the use of chlorofluorocarbons substance which are ozone-depleting substances. According to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, much of the ozone layer over Antarctica has been restored and complete restoration is expected by 2050. Undeniably, it is an achievement of the international community. Fourth, the World Bank states that there was 36 percent poverty globally in 1996, whereas by 2015 it had been reduced by 26 percent and stood at 10 per cent. Millions of people were taken out of poverty, especially in Asia and Africa. It improved the provision of basic facilities and reduced MMR, IMR, malnutrition, and vaccine-preventable diseases. However, sometimes the vision for an ideal society engenders bad policies too. Hitler’s ideal society for the Aryan race ended in the Final Solution. During the World War-II, Germany adopted the final solution to the Jew question. Around 6 million Jews were killed out of 11 million Jews. This genocide compelled the rest of the Jews to escape the cruelty by evacuating Germany. Today the event is commemorated as the Holocaust and has negative connotations. Further, Trump’s and Modi’s vision of making their countries great has fanned hatred against other communities in their countries. USA President Donald Trump, on his first day in office on January 20, 2025, issued numerous executive orders that threatened to undermine respect for international human rights both in the US and abroad as reported by Human Rights Watch. Similarly, Modi is popular in India because of his anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistani stance. Their administration works on excluding people and fanning hatred, which is harmful to the social capital of both countries. Likewise, greenhouse gases emission is a causal factor behind global warming. The rise of sea level by 10 inches, the melting of Greenland glaciers by 280 billion tons, rising temperature of oceans, are examples of climate change that impact human lives significantly. The policy of uncontrolled industrialization in Western countries and emerging economies produces excessive greenhouse gases. Despite that these are the developing countries which are the most affected countries by climate change. The above-mentioned examples show that a utopian vision of society can result in both good and bad policies. These examples also depict that the exclusion of people based on identity is a nightmare for any society. Crackdowns on political opponents, character assassination of opponents, censorship, and hatred against other ethnicities and minorities impact social capital and economic growth. Undeniably human and financial resources and modern infrastructure are the fundamentals in making programs efficient and effective, but, diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) sustain such programs in the long run. The writer is a freelance columnist.