Latest editorial
JAMES WALSH is moved by a provocative and original take on the relationship between ecology and architecture, and a plea to work with, not against, the materials and minerals of our world
Utopian visions that illuminate dark times
An immersive, participatory display by a queer Australian Aboriginal performer, and a rebellious unravelling of traditional Scottish dance
EWAN CAMERON witnesses a political farce that lacks a clear message
EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
Utopia
by Thomas More
(Verso, £8.99)
THIS new edition of Utopia celebrates the 500th anniversary of the original Latin publication of Thomas More’s vision of an ideal society.
A classic dissertation on transcending the social and political ills of 16th-century Europe, it is a demanding but rewarding read which retains much of its relevance. Its blend of fiction and political philosophy employs a framing narrative to contrast ideal and existing society and sets out an array of sociopolitical ideals that contemporary socialists are still struggling to achieve.
Similar stories
MIGUEL YOSHIDA explains the evolution and influence of the Cuban Casa De Las Americas in joining culture to the revolutionary struggle
ANDY HEDGECOCK welcomes an entertaining, useful guide to the threats and promises of mathematical rationality
MARTIN HALL examines the way the Roman orator took on different schools of philosophy
GORDON PARSONS is intrigued by a biography of the Marxist intellectual and author, made from the point of view of his son