For more than 2,000 years utopian visionaries have sought to create a blueprint of the ideal society: from Plato to HG Wells, from Cloud cuckoo land to Shangri-La, the utopian impulse has generated a vast body of work, encompassing philosophy and political theory, classical literature and science fiction. And yet these utopian dreams have often turned to nightmare, as utopia gives way to its dark reflection, dystopia.
Utopia takes the reader on a journey through these imaginary worlds, charting the progress of utopian ideas from their origins within the classical world, to the rebirth of utopian ideals in the Middle ... Read more
Today, it is claimed that we are witnessing the death of utopia, as increasingly the ideals that give rise to them are undermined or dismissed. These arguments are explored and evaluated here, and contemporary examples of utopian thought used to demonstrate the enduring relevance of the utopian tradition.
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About Merlin Coverley
Reviews for Utopia
William Darragh
Fortean Times
Dr Merlin Coverley's pithy new book Utopia
Duncan Brown
Prospect Magazine
Although a slim paperback, this book turns out to be quite exhaustive on the chosen topic and, in its brevity, to be quite original in its perspective as well ... Read more