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Utopia (Classic Collection (Blackstone Audio))

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"Utopia", written in 1516 by Thomas More, is probably one of the most important books ever written. Why?. Simply because it influenced many people, and motivated many events: it made a difference...

"Utopia" means, literally, "no place". The word didn't exist until More coined it in this book. He wanted to make a critic regarding the English society of his time, but needed to cloak it under a "fictional" mantle due to censure. Displeasing the king was very dangerous in More's time...

What is this short novel about?. Well, More introduces us to an imaginary character, Raphael Hythloday, a traveler that has visited a distant country: Utopia. After meeting More, Raphael tells him about the country he visited, and afterwards More writes a book about what he was told.

To begin with, in that country community is more important that private aims, and that fact permeates all social and political life. There is no private propriety of the means of production, and everything belongs to everybody. Work is obligatory to all healthy men and women, and those who want to do nothing are punished with forced labor. There is no money, but everybody has what is needed to live well, although frugally. Thanks to the fact labor is well distributed, leisure time is available to all. As a result, men and women (equals in this society) can dedicate time to cultivate their minds...

Other important points that should be highlighted regarding Utopia, especially because they contrast strongly with the situation of More's England, are that in this country all religions are allowed, and that there isn't an autocratic rule (a democratically elected assembly and different local governments are elected). All in all, equality prevails, and thanks to the above mentioned arrangements harmony is achieved.

"Utopia" was written a few years later that Machiavelli's "The Prince", but the differences between the two books are incredible. In "Utopia" instead of praising the power of princes More wanted to show clearly all that was wrong in English society because it was governed by a bad ruler. He didn't tell others to face reality: he asked them to criticize it, in order to improve it later. Thus, Moro established the essential traits of what was later known as the "utopian method": to describe in other situation, with a prejudice of optimism, all that that we don't like in our society.

With "Utopia" Moro created a new way to mobilize energies, and showed options that had remained hidden from the eyes of those who weren't happy with their societies. Behind the name of "fiction", he gave politics new intruments of discussion, and opened to it novel ways of considering reality, in the light of what could/should be.

There is no politics without the idea that something better can be achieved, without the kind of imagination that allows us to think that something better is possible. Moro made that evident... I think that that is more than enough to strongly recommend this book to you :)

Belen Alcat

I purchased the Penguin edition intially, so to have a compact copy of this essential work. However, I was thoroughly unimpressed with the edition. The translator, Turner, assumes very little of his reader and therefore "translates" some of More's most witty and erudite comments into bland, lifeless remarks. The most irriating example is that rather than keep the main character's name as Rafael Hythloday he has "translated" the name as "Rafael Nonsenso." Turner justifies this choice by saying that not many modern readers know classic Greek... true. But, it would have been better to footnote the original name and explain it's origin and meaning rather than translate the name into an obvious joke. By doing this Turner steals the very essence and beauty from the work. There are many other examples of Turner's tweaking that are maddening. However, I will say that the Introduction to the Penguin Utopia by Tucker is very nice. I especially enjoyed Tucker's discussion of "Utopian Literature." However, I recommend that you find the book in a library, photocopy the intro... and instead purchase the Hackett Publishing version (now available in paperback, I believe) which offers thorough and accessible footnotes to the text as well as a wonderful introduction.

As a social critique of Enlgish and European society, this book is very effective. It is also beautifully written. But it should not be read as the depiction of what society should be like. Thomas More, a wise and brave man executed by orders of Henry VIII, knew that Utopia shouldn't be taken very seriously, and that is exactly why he used the word Utopia to name his famous island. Utopia, in latin, means "in no place", that what can not exist. The problem is that this simple fact was not understood by many. And so, "utopianism" was born. The preposterous belief that there is a universal and definitive form of organization for human societies led to disasters like Nazism and Communism. By organizing everything perfectly (according to who?), these systems become the negation of the very essence of the human being: its innate imperfection and its need to be constantly changing, always on the move. It is simply impossible that some political, economic and social system resolves once and for all the troubles of humanity. Problems are exactly what make humans progress and reform constantly. Besides, the State has proven indispensable for survival, but also limited in what it can accomplish (in Utopia, the State provides everything for everybody). Stagnant societies degenerate and disappear, or remain to live from the charity of dynamic societies. Closed, perennial social systems, simply don't work: there is abundant proof in history, ancient or recent. "Utopia" is an excellent account of human shortcomings and a good tale, but it is not, nor was intended to be, a recipe with solutions for the world. Aldous Huxley and George Orwell have shown us what might happen in a supposed Utopia. The Communist world was worse. And Anthony Burgess clearly shows us in "A Clockwork Orange", that in "perfect" societies, the only way to practice freedom is violence. Let's not be perfect.

Utopia is a classic masterpiece that conveys More's vivid imagination of the Island of Utopia. Although most of the characters are fictional, it is intriguing to learn about the true values of European societies during the 16th century, when More actually wrote the book (although many scholars believe that the exact year was 1515). Truthfully, the book is quite easy to understand. All More tries to do is convey his own views of how society should be through Raphael. Moreover, the use of imagery in Book I is quite fascinating, including the constant references to Roman and Greek myths and beliefs. It is also quite remarkable to see that the story begins to be more and more interesting after More and Giles come back from dinner. To make a long story short, I think it is a great book because of the actual time it was written in since most pieces of literature written at that time were either lost or destroyed.

I have always been a tremendous fan of More; however, I would recommend not approaching "Utopia" with this edition. Although this is the cheapest version out there, I find it entirely lacking in footnotes, annotations, and other "tools" that help explain some of the nuances of More's argument.

Instead of purchasing this edition, go for the Norton Critical Edition, which also contains some essays which help illuminate the text.

Please, please understand: Utopia is not Thomas Moore's philosophy or dream of perfect world, or something unbearably cruel that he believed was right in real time. Utopia is SATIRE. Entirely satire. Political lampooning.
It is unsettling to read reviews by people who have completely missed this, which is precisely the kind of thing Moore was satirizing.
Read it for the brilliant piece that it is - do not take it literally for heaven's sake!
This is akin to taking Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" seriously, and failing to see the social and political satire - Swift proposes eating Irish children to stop the overpopulation. Satire!

As a social critique this book is very effective with answers to many arguments. Thomas More is a wise, brave and educated man who was executed by orders of Henry VIII, and wrote Utopia more as an explanation of why society needed to be far from perfect in order to be enjoyable. Utopia, meaning in Latin "in no place", was written entirely in satire, and many have said that it was a great source of entertainment for the more educated as they watched those less educated argue on the side of a Utopian state while quoting Moore, and having never seen the satire present while reading. Mr. Moore's Utopia touches on every aspect of the human existance as it would be experienced if we prescribed to this way of life. I found many of his discriptions colorful, and commonly found myself of the verge of anger before realizing that Mr. Morre was more often than not simply playing the devil's advocate.

This was very enjoyable for me. I would recommend that everyone take a risk and read this one.

Throughout the history of the world people have always dreamed of a better life. Though the views of a perfect world are dependent on an individual, Thomas More in his most famous work, Utopia, attempted to show the imaginary state that would be "ideal" for everyone. Or so it seems...Utopia, meaning in Latin "in no place", was written entirely in satire. More purposely filled Utopia with contradictions. While there were many colorful depictions of the imaginary Utopia, More also told exactly why Utopia could only exist where it had already been introduced: nowhere. That being said, Thomas More did accomplish many intriguing arguments against capital punishment- stated through the eyes of Hythloday. Overall the book was beautifully written, but un-careful readers' heads will spin, as the book is full of paradoxes

This book is foundational. I mean that in every sense of the word. This book has been applied in so many ways to so many organizations, so many lives, so many countries, and even religions. To read this book is to look through the eyes of hundreds upon hundreds of historical figures that have existed since it was written in 1516.

I think it's safe to say that everyone, at some point in their lives, has sat down and thought about "Utopia." I know I did. You think, "Well, if everyone worked equal amounts and everyone shared equal amounts, there would be plenty of things for everyone, and everyone would be happy." This book takes that idea and stretches it to it's greatest extremes, incorporating politics, military strategies, religions, lifestyles... Everything that makes up a country. It really sounds like it could work... Except for the fact that humans are human.

And More goes into that. With every new idea he proposes, he is already responding to your counter-statements by explaining how the people in Utopia act a certain way, believe a certain way, or he'll take another key element of the Utopian system and use that in his defense as well. He knows that humans are flawed in many ways, but Utopia is all about perfection... And so therefore the Utopians are perfect. In the book he says, "They never find fault about other ways of life, or boast about their own." (122). Only in Utopia.

However, don't get the idea that the Utopian system is truly perfect, because it has its own contradictions. Reading through the book, I found at least 4 contradictions of itself, but I think More did this on purpose. He knows this place can never exist, and it seems like he threw a few loopholes in there to remind the reader of that.

Another thing that is really enlightening about this book is the first half of it, and how it ties in to modern American life. To me, it is clearly obvious that America was partly based on it. I've talked to people that don't feel similarly, but if you read through it and think about how much it parallels modern life in America, it really stands out. I still believe that the Founding Forefathers of America all had copies of this book at their sides while deciding how this new country should be run. Read it and you'll understand.

Another great thing about reading this book is the insane amount of great quotes there are. More has a wonderful talent of saying what's obvious about the world, but saying it in a way that's terrifically accurate and concise... Making you think, "Man, that's EXACTLY how it is! If people only knew..." I have something on every other page highlighted in my copy of this book. Literally. Sometimes more frequent than that.

Overall, I give this book the highest reccommendation possible. Read it with an open mind, a highlighter in hand, and a place to jot down notes nearby. Once you start reading, you have a flood of epiphanies coming to you, and it's nice to be able to look back on them and think you're smart :). Prepare to be enlightened, because this is one of the best eye-openers you could possibly find.

This was the first edition of this book that I bought, and it is almost completly unreadable. Granted this is a budget book; however, the quality is completly lacking. If you are going to buy this book, which you should, it is an excellent peice in understanding More's society, I recomend the Penguin edition.