Utopia

 I finished reading "Utopia" and needed a day to digest it. This book was really amazing to me. So many of it's points can pertain to our current society as well as our past (and the past of other societies as well). This book is broken down into two sections. Each section seems to be conversations, but the second one is more the story of place called Utopia, and not really a first conversation.

 In the first conversation, 'Raphael' is having a conversation with a well known lawyer in england at the table of a cardinal. They discuss what motivates people to commit crimes and how they way society is run can often influence the fluctuation of crimes. In reality, it seemed like they where discussing the 'evils of capitalism', and 'Raphael' made some pretty good points. I won't outline exactly what those points are, as I feel it is important for any civil minded person to read this book. I will say that it really opened my eyes to the differences between how we claim people should be treated and how they really are.

 The second conversation takes place between 'Raphael' and 'More'. This is the part of the book where 'Raphael' explains the society known as Utopia. Several of the points seemed like they would logically work, except for the one thing he doesn't take into account when considering this society, and that is the power of human greed. Utopia is basically a communist society, with a few differences, like the freedom of religion. It is based off the idea that if everyone works equally so that everyone is given exactly what they need (not what they want), then everyone can acheive true happiness. The idea is great, and seems very logical to me, but when societies have tried this in the past, it always ends in disaster. The reason they end in disaster? Human greed. The ingrained drive for more. I'm not saying its not important to keep pushing the limits. I think that we should push the limits in science and research and intellectual studies, but at what cost do we push the limits when it comes to optaining material and monetary riches. Is it really whats important in life? I guess thats for you to decide.

 I would say this is a definate read for anybody interested in political theory, or really philosophy in general. Hope you enjoy!

The Book Hoarder