Economy and Utopia

In this insightful book, David Reisman examines the various notions of a utopia that emerged in opposition to feudalism and capitalism between the publication of Thomas More’s Utopia in 1516 and William Morris’s News from Nowhere in 1890. The book adopts an interdisciplinary approach to analysing the concept of a utopia, its sources and roots and the spectrum of thought surrounding how it should be created.

Reisman evaluates the ideas of renowned and lesser-known authors such as Francis Bacon, Henri de Saint-Simon, Gerrard Winstanley, Étienne Cabet, James Harrington and Edward Bellamy, who imagined an earthly paradise to replace social division and economic underperformance. The book explores science, communism, cooperation, citizenship, the constitution and the dystopia of control. It shows how utopian ideals continue to challenge narrow individualism. Providing a unique depth of coverage in this field, Reisman assesses how market exchange, cut-throat competition and private property would yield to a new and more communitarian approach to life and work.

Economy and Utopia is a crucial resource for students and scholars of economics and finance, political theory, public policy and philosophy. Its focus on past efforts to improve society will also benefit researchers in history and sociology.