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Leisure and Learning in Renaissance Utopias

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Patrick K. Dooley
Patrick K. Dooley*
Affiliation:
St. Bonaventure University, New York
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Extract

If a utopia is a near perfect, or even a demonstrably superior, society, is there anything that endangers that society as soon as it is achieved? Yes. Prosperity! I have shown in “More's Utopia and the New World Utopias: Is the Good Life an Easy Life?”, that the actually existing, “real” New World Utopian communities were severely challenged by success. For example, the vigor of the Jansonite community in Bishop Hill, Illinois (1846-1860) sharply declined when that community met their survival needs and had to deal with surpluses and comfort. As soon as communal efforts and group sacrifices produced prosperity, the attractiveness of communism faded.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Diogenes , Volume 34 , Issue 134 , June 1986 , pp. 19 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)

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References

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