In this work, which'gave its name to the whole genre of books and movements hypothesizing an ideal society, More envisioned a patriarchal island kingdom that practiced religious tolerance, in which everybody worked, no one had more than his fellows, all goods were community-owned, and violence, bloodshed and vice were nonexistent. Based to some extent on the writings of Plato and other earlier authors, Utopia nevertheless contained much that was original with More.

 In this work, which"gave its name to the whole genre of books and movements hypothesizing an ideal society, More envisioned a patriarchal island kingdom that practiced religious tolerance, in which everybody worked, no one had more than his fellows, all goods were community-owned, and violence, bloodshed and vice were nonexistent. Based to some extent on the writings of Plato and other earlier authors, Utopia nevertheless contained much that was original with More.

 In this new, inexpensive edition, readers can study for themselves the essentials of More"s utopian vision and how, although the ideal society he envisioned is still unrealized, at least some of his proposals have come to pass in today"s world.

BOOK I

BOOK II