Utopia

What we can learn from a Renaissance nowhere

In 1516, a book was published in Latin with the enigmatic Greek-derived word as its title. Utopia--which could mean either "good-place" or "no-place"--gives a traveler's account of a newly discovered island somewhere in the New World where the inhabitants enjoy a social order based purely on natural reason and justice. As the traveler describes the harmony, prosperity, and equality found there, a dramatic contrast is drawn between the ideal community he portrays and the poverty, crime, and often frightening political conditions of 16th century Europe. Written by Sir Thomas More (1477-1535)--then a rising intellectual star of the Renaissance and ultimately the advisor and friend of Henry VIII who was executed for his devoutly Catholic opposition to the king--Utopia is as complex as its author.

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