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 also interesting …
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.
