In the preface of the revised, 1976 edition of Walden Two, the author critically examines contemporary American culture, noting that cities have become unmanageably large and that the over-consumption of resources is causing pollution. He writes, "It is now widely recognized that great changes must be made in the American way of life." Then he asserts that, "The choice is clear: either we do nothing and allow a miserable and probably catastrophic future to overtake us, or we use our knowledge about human behavior to create a social environment in which we shall live productive and creative lives and do so without jeopardizing the chances that those who follow us will be able to do the same." What kind of new "social environment" might be created to avoid a "catastrophic future"? The author concludes by suggesting that, "Something like a Walden Two would not be a bad start."

Walden Two challenges contemporary U.S. social conventions such as the value of modern education, the effectiveness of university professors, excessive work volume, and posits a planned economy, critical of allegedly inefficient capitalism. The community's government is not democratic. Planners and Managers govern the community and require only four daily hours of work from each person and promote the arts and applied scientific research. The community subscribes to a code of conduct based upon, and supported by, behaviorism. Children are reared communally by trained behavior specialists, outside the nuclear family, and loyalty to community, instead of the family, is encouraged.

Walden Two is controversial for its rejection of democracy as an effective system of government, as well as its endorsement of a viable socialist economy and an atheist society. It is also criticized for seemingly creating an appeal for dictators and emulators of T.E. Frazier, the emotionally unstable protagonist.

Six visitors arrive at a thousand-person community then ten years old. A decade earlier, T.E. Frazier wrote an article asking people join him in founding a community based on philosopher H. D. Thoreau's ideas. Two soldiers, returned from the war, seek Frazier, and enlist Professor Burris's help; he finds and communicates with Frazier, then joins the visit to the community. Prof. Burris invites Prof. Augustine Castle, and, with the two soldiers, Rogers and Steve Jamnick, and their girlfriends, Mary Grove and Barbara Macklin, they visit Walden Two.

The focus of the story evolves primarily toward the dialogue between Frazier, Prof. Castle, and Prof. Burris, each reflecting their own philosophical and practical concerns about the design and structure of the community. At story's end, one couple stay in the community, while the other visitors leave, however, in a sudden change of heart, Prof. Burris quits his university post and returns to the rural community.

The rural utopia of Walden Two is contemporary, not in the future, and is accessible via a bus-and-car journey, unlike Thomas More’s Utopia with only a single entrance and exit from the island society. In the introduction, B.F. Skinner says his reasons for writing Walden Two were personal: he read New Atlantis, by Francis Bacon, on being told that William Shakespeare was Sir Francis Bacon , and his desire to describe an interesting Heaven. The other utopias mentioned in the novel are Erewhon and Looking Backward.

Walden Two describes a small, thousand-person planned community based upon the community posited by H. D. Thoreau and behavioural psychology. Frazier and five others are the governing Planners. The community is self-sufficient, emulating the self-sufficiency of the Walden utopia, and to allow for the experimental control of the community, as a pilot scientific experiment, however, the way things are done is changeable, if the evidence favours change.

The community members are happy, productive, and creative; happiness derives from the promotion of rich social relationships and family life, free affection, the creation of art, music, and literature, opportunity for games of chess and tennis, and ample rest, food, and sleep. The community is self-governed; the members subscribe to the Walden Code of self-control techniques, which allow maintaining a happy, productive life in Walden Two with minimal strain. Self-governance, however, is supplemented with community counselors who supervise behaviour and are available to help the members with their problems in following the Walden Code.

Walden Two has a constitution that "can be changed by a unanimous vote of the Planners and a two-thirds vote of the Managers".

The constitution provides for a "Board of Planners", which is Walden Two's "only government". "Board of Planners" is a name that "goes back to the days when Walden Two existed only on paper". "There are six Planners, usually three men and three women". "The Planners are charged with the success of the community. They make policies, review the work of the Managers, keep an eye on the state of the nation in general. They also have certain judicial functions." A Planner "may serve for ten years, but no longer." A vacancy on the Board of Planners is filled by the Board "from a pair of names supplied by the Managers".