A utopian society is one in which the needs of the people are met perfectly, and one in which common issues like crime and poverty are nonexistent. A democratic society can eventually get to this state, as people can be relied upon to act and vote in their best interest, but only if it is kept honest, and its people are kept interested and unified. My three pillars: greater education, greater transparency, and a free press can contribute to this by helping foster interest, curtailing corruption, and keeping people well informed.

Historically, voter turnout in the United states hovers around 50%, with the 2020 election raking in a record 62% of the eligible population to vote, and leaving 48% unheard. Turnout is even lower for non-primary elections like the midterms and state elections, and the reason often comes down to disinterest and ignorance. How can we expect the government to act in its people’s best interest if almost half of them aren’t even participating? How can we fix this? The answer is education. It has been shown that a higher level of education correlates with greater political participation, both specifically through programs in the social sciences, and In general. A 2005 article titled “THE MISSING LINK: Exploring the Relationship Between Higher Education and Political Engagement” by Sunshine D. Hillygus supports this sentiment. The article states that, in the U.S., “graduates who concentrated study in social science were found, six years later, to be among the most politically active citizens compared to those who majored in any other field, even controlling for a multitude of other factors.”(Hillygus) and that “Even college graduates … with no social science credits have a predicted 56.8% chance of voting, which is still far higher than young people in the population with no higher education at all.”(Hillygus) A greater level of civilian participation would obviously improve how accurately the government understands its people’s needs, leading us closer to a utopic standard.

Greater transparency can serve to improve public perception, resulting in a greater trust in the government and (presumably) a greater willingness to interface with it. This can be seen in a 2020 study titled “Citizens’ Perception of Corruption and Transparency as Determinants of Public Trust in Local Government in Ukraine” by Rieznik Stanislav. The study compared public trust in the government to perceived corruption and transparency in Ukraine, and found that “the perception of local government transparency and trust in local government were positively related … In other words, the more local government provides information to citizens, the more its residents are satisfied with the local government and tend to trust it.” (Stanislav) it is obvious that a higher level of trust would correlate to a greater level of interaction, as citizens would be more willing to believe that their input is actually being heard and implemented, motivating them to participate further.

Greater transparency also works to root out corruption, ensuring that government decisions serve the best interests of the public, and that taxpayer money is not wasted. This is shown in a study titled “Lights on the shadows of public procurement: Transparency as an antidote to corruption” by Monika Bauhr. This study analyzes the efforts of various European countries to minimize corruption when it comes to public procurement. Public procurement is when a government purchases supplies from or outsources work to a private company, this process is prone to corruption, as a procurement official can easily rig the system to favor a certain company they have an investment in, buying at an inefficient rate, making a profit and wasting taxpayer money. According to Bauhr’s study: “Findings show a negative impact of overall tender transparency on corruption risks.” (Bauhr), she even estimates that “increasing transparency by five items, on average, … could decrease single bidding by 2.5–6 percentage points translating into … about EUR 4.5–10.9 billion savings per year across the EU.” (Bauhr)

A free press can contribute by aiding both these points. The press can act as a source of knowledge for the general public, helping cultivate interest, while simultaneously playing a part in fighting corruption. Studies have shown that the media can have a sizable impact on the rates of corruption in various countries and on various forms of government. Such effects are more pronounced in parliamentary systems than presidential ones. Nevertheless, increased media presence reliably decreases corruption regardless of system, as illustrated in a 2013 study titled “The Media’s Role in Fighting Corruption: Media Effects on Governmental Accountability.” by Lindita Camaj. It states:
“The empirical evidence from this study suggests a strong association between media freedom and corruption in cross-sectional data from 133 countries around the world and that this relationship runs from more media freedom to less corruption.” (Camaj)
By lessening corruption the media can help a government better reciprocate the intentions of its people, and safeguard it from bad actors who would wish to exploit it. A lack of corruption can also help bolster confidence in one’s government, further motivating participation. Speaking of motivating participation, the media can act as a source of information on current political topics, cultivating interest in those who would otherwise pay no attention to the goings of their government. Previous studies have shown that the media mainly influence those who already have an interest in politics, however, a more recent study titled “Stimulating or Reinforcing Political Interest: Using Panel Data to Examine Reciprocal Effects Between News Media and Political Interest.” by Shelley Boulianne, reveals that the media can have a strong impact on even those who were previously disinterested in government, she states:
“The use of online news sources transforms people into interested and (albeit from indirect mechanisms) engaged citizens to a greater degree than online news serves as a tool for those already interested in politics. Online news stimulates political interest, which in turn has a significant, positive effect on level of political talk.” (Boulianne 157)
Fostering government participation, whether it be direct or indirect, would be a key goal in cultivating a utopian society.

Overall, in order to cultivate the perfect society, the government must understand the will of the people, and be held to their standards. Only by doing this, can we ensure the government continuously improves the lives of its citizens, leading to a utopia. Towards this goal, the people must be kept informed and interested through education, government transparency, and open press. This will cultivate political participation, which will in turn give the government an accurate picture of the people’s wants, with greater transparency and media presence there to ensure that it stays true to its purpose: to cultivate a better society.