Utopia

Paperback, 224 pages

English language

Published November 2016 by Verso.

ISBN:: 978-1-78478-760-8

Five-hundred-year anniversary edition of More’s Utopia, with writing from major science fiction writers

Five hundred years since its first publication, Thomas More’s Utopia remains astonishingly radical and provocative. More imagines an island nation where thousands live in peace and harmony, men and women are both educated, and property is communal. In a text hovering between fantasy, satire, blueprint and game, More explores the theories and realities behind war, political conflicts, social tensions and redistribution, and imagines the day-to-day lives of a citizenry living free from fear, oppression, violence and suffering.

But there has always been a shadow at the heart of Utopia. If this is a depiction of the perfect state, why, as well as wonder, does it provoke a growing unease?

In this quincentenary edition, published in conjunction with Somerset House, More’s text is introduced by multi-award-winning author China Miéville and accompanied by four essays from …

Five-hundred-year anniversary edition of More’s Utopia, with writing from major science fiction writers

Five hundred years since its first publication, Thomas More’s Utopia remains astonishingly radical and provocative. More imagines an island nation where thousands live in peace and harmony, men and women are both educated, and property is communal. In a text hovering between fantasy, satire, blueprint and game, More explores the theories and realities behind war, political conflicts, social tensions and redistribution, and imagines the day-to-day lives of a citizenry living free from fear, oppression, violence and suffering.

But there has always been a shadow at the heart of Utopia. If this is a depiction of the perfect state, why, as well as wonder, does it provoke a growing unease?

In this quincentenary edition, published in conjunction with Somerset House, More’s text is introduced by multi-award-winning author China Miéville and accompanied by four essays from Ursula K. Le Guin, today’s most distinguished utopian writer and thinker.

34 editions

Christian Leonard Quale reviewed Utopia by Thomas More

It was ok...

3 stars

It seems that most of the discussion around Utopia is “What is this actually?” Is it a genuine vision of the perfect world? A work of Satire? A joke?

To me it reads like a very interesting thought-experiment. I think it’s quite clear that the ideal world that is being described is in no way ideal. If anything, the island of Utopia seems more like a prison island designed to maximise output than like an ideal community. However, it’s a very interesting thought-experiment with a lot of interesting ideas. Some might be genuinely good, others are presented in a way which makes it very evident (at least when read today) why they would never work in reality.

In any case, it was very interesting to read the origins of the phrase Utopia - and, if what was written hear was meant (or, perhaps more likely, taken) seriously, it’s …

It seems that most of the discussion around Utopia is “What is this actually?” Is it a genuine vision of the perfect world? A work of Satire? A joke?

To me it reads like a very interesting thought-experiment. I think it’s quite clear that the ideal world that is being described is in no way ideal. If anything, the island of Utopia seems more like a prison island designed to maximise output than like an ideal community. However, it’s a very interesting thought-experiment with a lot of interesting ideas. Some might be genuinely good, others are presented in a way which makes it very evident (at least when read today) why they would never work in reality.

In any case, it was very interesting to read the origins of the phrase Utopia - and, if what was written hear was meant (or, perhaps more likely, taken) seriously, it’s also interesting to see how times have changed.