Rating: 
Summary: More Important for Its Significance Than Its Content
Review: "Utopia" by Thomas More is considered by some to be the work which augured the reappearance of political discourse in western civilization. "Utopia" was originally published in 1516 and has since given its name to an entire genre of literature.To understand "Utopia" one must understand both More and the time in which he lived. More was an English Catholic who lived during the reign of Henry VIII. Henry VIII is the English monarch who severed England's ties with the Roman Catholic Church and who established the Church of England with himself as the leader. Late 15th- and early 16th-century western Europe was a place of growing empires and a time of apparent moral decay. Europe was becoming rich and people like More saw this as an inherently evil thing. More often upbraided the aristocratic class, including the monarchy, for ignoring the plight of the poor and for increasing their already immense wealth on the backs of the peasants. More penned "Utopia" as a cure for the ills he saw in western Europe. In More's utopia, money did not exist, no one was able to hoard a commodity or food for the purposes of creating artificial scarcity, all members of society were treated as equals and labored equally, 'useless' trades like banking and goldsmithing were non-existent, etc. More's vision cannot be labelled socialist; but, it is similar to a communal existence. The importance of the individual is secondary to the well being of the people at large. Individuals are not forced to give to others; but, social pressures require that they do. More's version of paradise will strike many modern readers as being overly controlling and stifling. However, compared to the lives of most commoners in More's day, it probably seemed like a welcome alternative to their never ending drudgery and labor. In More's mind the common man should be as revered as any other person because it is often the produce of his labor which benefits society the most. While I disagree with More's vision of utopia, by the meer fact that we refer to such places as 'utopias', lets one know all they need to know regarding the significance of "Utopia". As with any ideal concept it is up to each individual to determine its worth. "Utopia" need not necessarily be read because it purports to show the way to some better life; it should be read because of what it means for the evolution of western intellectual thought and philosophy.
Rating: 
Summary: Utopia, a new way to mobilize energies ...
Review: "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
Rating:
Summary: Utopia, a new way to mobilize energies ...
Review: "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
Rating:
Summary: An excellent edition of an excellent work.
Review: A short and pithy read, detailing a faultless nation (for best results, interpret it as somewhere _between_ pure satire and the propounding of an ideal society). The ample historical background provided by this edition adds a second dimension as interesting as the work itself. Now if only I could read Latin...
Rating:
Summary: Creative.
Review: A very good, entertaining book. Book I, if I remember correctly, more or less gives a little history about England and Europe and sets up Book II, which goes in depth in its report about the island of Utopia, the perfect society. It has very interesting descriptions, such as the Utopian slaves cutting all meat, fish, etc., because if a citizen cut something with such a large knife, it might put a bad, violent impression on his conscious, and degrade the society's peace. A book that's short and sweet.
Rating:
Summary: A great work of truth that will change the way you think.
Review: After reading St. Thomas More's Utopia I cried. Not that it's tragic. Far from it. It's just that tere is so much beauty and sicerity in More's work. The book is just over 100 pages so it's short and to the point. This book has so much to say that everyone, sociologically inclined or not, should pick up a copy and be enlightened. My views on society and life in general have been greatly affected by More's writings. Utopia is the best book I have ever read
Rating: 
Summary: "In no place"
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Look at the World Through the Eyes of Moore
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Look at the World Through the Eyes of Moore
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Utopia
Review: As More writes in the last line, "... I readily admit that there are very many features in the Utopian commonwealth which it is easier for me to wish for in our countries than to have any hope of seeing realized." Utopia is a work of fiction, but it has genuine insight in the the fractures in the foundation of contemporary society.
The reader need not be a Christian to appreciate this work, particularly with the wit employed by More. In the first book, St. Thomas More chastises Raphael Hytholdaeus on his reluctance to contribute his ideas of improvement to the service of the corrupt government. More is open in explaining why idle talents are a great injustice to society. In the second book, More goes through each facet of society to explain how it works in the fictionous land Utopia. Among the sections addressed are government, occupations, social relations, travel, slavery, military, and religion. Some suggests like those given about marriage and slavery are clearly outdated, but the bulk of the book is still very relevant.
More is observant in seeing that greed is the root of many societal problems. While we can take action against our own greediness, remedying society as a whole is not possible on this Earth. While Utopia sounds like a wonderful place, it is a fictitious place.
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