I'm not suggesting dumbing it down or going for cheap action to hook them, but the simple fact is that you MUST hook them.
That's what I'm going to do, but without axing the first two chapters. Unfortunately the prologue is not possible as the first two chapters are too long for that. Plus there was a prologue what I already cut and took it to the ending (That was the action opening, but as the resolution and explanation came only two volumes later for that scene, it's better if it's not there.).
It all depends on your goals, of course. If you want to write the book the way you feel it must be, then keep the first two chapters. If your goal is to get it sold and read, a change must be made.
Changes will be made, but within a limit and without sacrificing any serious elements. Watcher and Polymath gave me few idea how to solve this part. And it's maybe harder to make a rewrite instead of cut the first two, but I rather work on it a bit more instead of present the story on a way as I definitely don't want.
Enough of them are telling you something that I bet an agent will end up telling you the same thing. You will most likely be told to change it in order to get representation.
If an agent is going to say to change the whole thing drastically, I won't work with that agent, because in that case that agent want to represent his own taste and not my novel. First of all, the agents are working for the writers and not the writers are working for the agents. If an agent will want drastic changes, because of a matter of taste and not because of some serious mistake what I committed, then we will take two different path instead of walking on the same one. Unlike many, I'm not willing to impress an agent, especially if their salary will be paid from my sales. To me it's really matter who is going to get the 10% from the sales. There is one story, what is fix (With the exception of the aforementioned planned changed) and there are plenty of agents to choose from. If I must wait for the right agent for few more months, but for exchange the original story will be published, be it. :) I want to impress the readers instead. That's a huge difference.
While your world may be unique, Utopian societies are not unheard of.
Every Utopian society is usually following the scheme of 1984. But if you can tell me some novel title which is presenting an Utopian world which has no conflicts (Literally), I would appreciate it, because that would be very helpful. (A novel about a true utopia which has no conflict. The utopias that about I read was an illusion, where in the background dark forces created conspiracies, conflicts and controlled the people. In those stories these gave the source of the conflicts. Here, the dark forces are not present in the beginning at all, so I can work only with the "conflict free" side.).
Kill your darlings. Kill your ideal to make it stronger overall.
That won't happen. I rather try a third alternative as always. If something is original, I won't dumb it, nor kill it. I rather try to find a solution instead of making useless sacrifices just to impress people, but write something on a way as I don't want to. I'm writing this story to present this exact story to the readers. Not an alternative version, not a dumb edition, not a trendy cliche parade. I want to present this story on the way as it is. Just with some changes to hook them, just as you mentioned, as it's necessary. But If I kill the darlings and foremost the ideals, this story wouldn't be the same. So ideals and darlings won't be sacrificed.