What is an appropriate word to describe something, a section of society wants or looks forward to it or believes in, but rest of the society/majority will not accept it at all or gives importance to it. Like online petitions (in my country atleast)
asked Feb 3, 2015 at 19:28
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Sorry, you want to describe the forward-looking part of the society or the more conservative part?– user66974Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 19:37
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I want to describe it as somethink some of us hope to achieve but clearly at present we cannot as whole.– Bhaskar VashishthCommented Feb 3, 2015 at 19:38
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Something like an aspiration? :a goal or objective that is strongly desired.– user66974Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 19:40
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Yeah but not possible to achieve because of mass disapproval– Bhaskar VashishthCommented Feb 3, 2015 at 19:41
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I think somewhere "conspiracy" sneaks in, on the part of one side or the other. And sociologists probably have a term for some public good that is unattainable due to public opposition.– Hot LicksCommented Feb 3, 2015 at 20:01
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2 Answers
Either fringe or minority, depending on how small the participating fraction is, plus belief, tradition, practice, custom or cause.
You could add diminishing or growing to indicate whether this segment of society is changing in size.
For example,
Petitions have always been a fringe cause in ....
Blue elephants remain a minority belief in many parts of the world
Words like folklore, lore, legend, or myth imply that the tradition is old and that relatively few people believe or follow it. However, both may be deeply integrated into the society, although in a less literal fashion than originally presented. These can be used to indicate why the custom persists. For example,
Among a diminishing minority, the myth that jumping on one foot to cure the common cold persists.
answered Feb 3, 2015 at 19:48
Probably utopia carries the connotation you are describing:
- An impractical, idealistic scheme for social and political reform.
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This suggestion implies improvement and, in common use, perfection. Used by itself it's meant to refer to More's Utopia (1516), which is a place. Even when used as an adjective (e.g. a utopian ideal, a utopian approach to voting), it still doesn't imply that only a minority of people believe it. In fact, it may be that most believe it in theory but see it as impossible (or impractical) to implement in practise. Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 20:01
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In practical usage 'utopia' is used to refer to political reforms which, for some reason, are considered very difficult or impossible to carry out, and I understand this is what OP is referring to.– user66974Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 20:05