Utopia - Thomas More

I think most people are familiar with the term utopia, and its use to describe "any real or imaginary state or place believed to be ideal, perfect, excellent" (Chambers dictionary). Probably far fewer are familiar with Sir Thomas More's tract of 1516, which first coined the term - which is a shame, because the society described therein is by no means obviously 'utopian' in the modern sense - our usage has come a long way from the original sense. The very etymology of the word 'utopia' is fraught with ambiguity. It's derived from the Greek 'topos' [place], but the prefix 'u' could be a ... more

Thomas More, executed by Henry VIII (one of his best friends) for treason, led an illustrious career of politics and letters. Under his friend the King, he served in many capacities – Speaker of the House of Commons, Master of Requests, Privy Councillor, etc. – culminating with the trust of the position of Lord Chancellor, a position in those days matching the prominence (if not the definition) of Prime Minister in these days. More's strong integrity and resolute mind caught the attention of scholars, political and church leaders internationally; it was this same integrity that most likely was ... more

For those that want to know about the dispute about the meaning of the word "Utopia" please go to the end and start there otherwise continue .... Plato's "Republic" is a seminal work and being philosophy can be read in any time in history it seems as it deals in ideas and concepts of governance. "Utopia" by Sir Thomas Moore is not like Plato's "Republic" - I was surprised by this as "Utopia" always seemed that grandiose work by someone who is without doubt a great man (an actual saint in fact). However "Utopia" lacks a purpose because..... The 1500s were a troubled time and people had to tread ... more

Thomas More was one of Henry the 8ths clergy men, he re-designed Platos classical blueprint for a perfect world as he it seems re-wrote 'Republic' as a modern (14something) 'Utopia' before Orwell so famously debunked it in his nhillistic classic '1984' The book is often considred a milestone work in moveing away from the Adam & Eve god given garden to the 'American Dream' of heavern on earth created by man. The work lays out how a new system of government (much like Communisum) which could make our world perfect -by takeing away freedom and liberty. More's book strangly for a clergy man has ... more

I have to say, I do not think anyone in their right mind would find this book understandable or interesting to read. It is full of archaic language and verb forms, for example "there be...." instead of "there are..." and each chapter has to be read at LEAST twice in order to be understood. The imaginary explorer, Hythloday, is telling the people in More's time how he has been to a utopia, a country where everything is perfect. The focus of the whole book is his explanations of this country, its customs, ways of thinking and ways of living. Because of this, the book gets quite tedious as it has ... more