That is my guess. I have yet to have the occasion to read More’s Utopia. It seems like a pun that More was clear in using, but that it sounds to me like some readers and critics miss, and as a consequence this confusion works its way into discussions of intentional communities also. Since utopias are - by definition - unattainable, the term can be used to subtly disparage any social work not within the status quo.
Many refer to various flavors of socialism, but I have also slung it back at capitalism. Isn’t the notion that an economy based upon scarcity and hoarding will somehow provide for most people and result in incentives for civilized society itself utopian? Same with having a representative democracy based upon state secrets. Lots of conservative and regressive ideas are easy to dismiss as not only undesirable but also ultimately unattainable. Because they were never meant to actually work as advertised, or they claim universality while depending upon double-standards.
