Let's study Thomas More's Utopia

And discuss human progress.

I can’t even believe how many of you are excited to read the utopian classics with me this year! I honestly thought I would be tackling this reading list with maybe one or two likeminded souls.

This month we’ll be studying Thomas More’s Utopia, published in 1516. The book is a novella—it is only 44,000 words in length and will take less than three hours to read. You can read it with us in Threadable—just download the app and then click this link from your phone to join our reading circle. Utopia is pinned in our circle. If you do not have an iPhone, you can get the book via Kindle for $0.39.

Supplementary reading this month is Plato’s The Republic (375 BCE), which was the first utopian novel and the forebear to Utopia. It is also available in our Threadable circle, or you can get it free via Kindle here. Remember that paid subscribers can start discussions about either book (or themes in those books) in Substack chat. If you haven’t joined that yet you can do so here:

Let’s discuss human progress

As we read, I want us to be thinking about how we can take some of these themes into the future. That’s why our homework this week is to read a piece recommended by

Austin James

about human progress and to meet us in the comments section for further discourse about how this is applicable to us today. Here’s our homework: