Re "the same white suits" to which Robert refers: Would they be of the kind that Alec Guiness wore in the hilarious old movie *The man in the white suit*? (I think I got the title right.) Walter O Quoting Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>: > John McCreery writes, of More's /Utopia/, and Stephen Greenblatt's > analysis of it, > > > One can, of course, historicize More, noting that he was a man of his > > times, trying to reconcile an Epicurean vision of the good life with > > the still vivid Christianity in which he believed. We might then > > overcome our cognitive dissonance by dissociating the threat of Hell > > in an afterlife, whose prototype would be the harshest form of slavery > > for unbelievers in this life, from the Heaven on Earth that Utopia > > promises. Alternatively, we might see this as a challenge to some of > > our own most cherished beliefs, that if only some fair and just set of > > social arrangements could be made, we could have our Heaven and eat > > whatever we like as well. > > > > That is the challenge I offer here. What mechanisms might make a > > Utopia without a Hell workable and be scalable enough to work in a > > world of seven billion-plus people? > > I was taught that More's book might well be a satirical demonstration > that no such society could be instituted because of the internal > contradictions (intentionally) displayed in his description of it. > (Years ago, I had to discuss /Utopia/, with a group of 18 and > 19-year-old students as part of Reed's first-year Humanities course; > that was not easy: they did not know, nor do I know today, its > politico-religious background and historical setting in any useful > depth.) It does strike me though that Greenblatt's analysis is too simple. > > The Wiki account makes sense to me, and if correct, would suggest that > Greenblatt has done some picking and choosing. But I'm no utopian. Would > we really want seven-billion people wearing the same white suits? > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(book)#The_meaning_of_the_work > > Robert Paul, > Erewhon > This electronic communication is governed by the terms and conditions at http://www.mun.ca/cc/policies/electronic_communications_disclaimer_2011.php ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html