Utopia is a book by Thomas Moore, written in 1516. I read a very old (from the 70s/80s?) greek translation of it. Here’s some of my thoughts:

Thomas Moore is clearly a libertarian (self-proclaimed). The book is centuries ahead of what history in Europe would turn out to be, and it has aged mostly well with some very notable counterexamples. Utopia is supposedly an island in the “New World”, whose culture is narrated by a traveller to Thomas Moore. Utopia includes:

  • Voting for everyone above the age of 18
  • Submission of wife to husband (which is kinda weird because he stresses gender equality a fair amount) and younger to elder
  • 6 hour workdays, with breaks for meals, optional education and entertainment, as well as free personal time
  • No private property
  • Freedom of worship
  • Religious leaders immune from prosecution (though their selection process is somewhat strict)
  • People living in identical houses, blocks, cities and wearing identical clothes (but they can have gardens)
  • Slavery, as a punitive measure (basically the 13th)
  • A class-ist system where children are expected by default to follow their parent’s profession and the only way to switch out is to get adopted by another family (though without conditions)
  • No executions but a kind of encouragement of euthanasia to old people? No pressure tho homie
  • A ritual before marriage where potential partners see each other fully naked before committing to marriage
  • Little external commerce, mostly to import the required iron
  • Precious metals and stones are used for the lowliest objects (children’s toys, or toilets) to exemplify their lack of value