The Great Utopias (illustrated)

Book excerpt: The Greate Utopias illustrated is a collection of the most famous classical works on the topic of an ideal society. “Can we live better?” For thousands of years human beings have dreamt of perfect worlds, worlds free of conflict, hunger and unhappiness. But can these worlds ever exist in reality? Many thinkers and authors have sought an answer to this question. Utopia is a perfect paradise that doesn’t exist, but which we all dream of anyway. Author Thomas More actually created the noun in one of his books to describe an imaginary island where all systems — political, social, and legal — are perfect and operate harmoniously. The collection includes works by Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella, Francis Bacon.