The Sustainability Saint: Enduring Lessons of Thomas More's Utopia

Keywords: Sustainability, Utopia, Thomas More, Garden city
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Sustainability advocacy is not new. Nor did it emerge first in nineteenth century environmental thought, the Progressive movement, or arts-and-crafts advocacy. As a set of coherent practices it rests on Thomas More's Utopia, published in 1516. More is not typically viewed as a disciple of sustainable living, despite his book's five-century record of literary imitation and political inspiration. Although More's island society is described in great detail, Utopia has not commanded the attention its specifics warrant. Most commentators have treated it as a geometric impossibility, a literal "no-place".Its specifics have been "lost in translation". But the Utopian landscape is an object lesson in sustainable living. Out-imagining Ebenezer Howard, More described a network of "vegetable-garden" cities, a massive horticultural resource which also negated "farm-to-table" transportation. Durability ruled Utopian material culture: More advocated leather clothing and stone-built structures. He also grasped renewable practice, exemplified by Thunen-like timber preserves with easy shipping from riparian settings. Utopia's egalitarian and communitarian society meant that no elite class could dominate consumption. Anticipating William Morris, More characterized most utopian production as handicraft and home-based. Regional self-sufficiency minimized wasteful transportation. And Utopia's long coastline and river navigation in any case minimized transport cost. The book's importance as a founding document of sustainability concepts transcends its stature in the history of political thought. As we seek to contain global warming Thomas More's Utopia can claim a place as a "book for all seasons".