From the Greek
kalos (fine, beautiful) and
polis (city).
Most often this is used to refer to the State put forth by Socrates in Plato's The Republic.
Without going into too much detail, Kallipolis is:
- High in censorship -- No music that encourages sorrow, drinking or other pointless actions, no stories or plays in which role models act improperly (drinking, mourning the dead, quarrelling, or rebelling against authority).
- Low on the luxuries -- moderation is the key to happiness.
- Ruled by a philosopher-king who does not want to rule -- who else can be trusted to make well-informed decisions without the interference of self-interest?
- A state in which everyone knows that the state is doing its best for them -- that is, they realize that no other system could do better for all of its citizens, and they also believe that the state is not doing them any injustice.
There's some other radical ideas packed into the theory of this
perfect state -- Sexual equality. Communism. Arranged marriages. A ban on flutes.
I am not making this up. Go read the book.
Sometimes spelled
Callipolis.