The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society
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- Create Date：2022-08-09 06:53:38
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Anna Neima
- ISBN：1529023106
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Summary
‘Fascinating and richly documented 。 。 。 Few books manage to be so informative and so entertaining。’
Sunday Times
The Utopians is the remarkable story of six experimental communities – Santiniketan-Sriniketan in India， Dartington Hall in England， Atarashiki Mura in Japan， the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France， the Bruderhof in Germany and Trabuco College in America – that sprang up in the aftermath of the First World War。
Each was led by charismatic figures who dreamed of a new way of living。 Rabindranath Tagore， Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst， Mushanokoji Saneatsu， G。 I。 Gurdjieff， Eberhard and Emmy Arnold and Gerald Heard all struggled to turn ambitious ideals into reality。 They – and their fellow communards – left their jobs， their homes and their social circles。 They faced mockery and persecution， penury， hunger and discomfort， and their own doubts about whether their efforts to change society would ever make a difference。
Anna Neima’s absorbing and vivid account of these collectives， from creation to collapse， reveals them to be full of eccentric characters， outlandish lifestyles and unchecked idealism。 They were dramatic， fractious places where high ideals collided with the need to feed the chickens， clean the toilets， bring up squabbling children and grow the grain for the daily bread。
These communities were small in scale and dismissed in their time。 Yet， a century later， their influence still resonates in realms as disparate as progressive education， environmentalism， medical research and mindfulness training。 They provided， and continue to provide， a rich store of inspiration for those who aspire to improve the world。 Without them， the post-war world would have been a poorer place。
The Utopians is the remarkable story of six experimental communities – Santiniketan-Sriniketan in India， Dartington Hall in England， Atarashiki Mura in Japan， the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France， the Bruderhof in Germany and Trabuco College in America – that sprang up in the aftermath of the First World War。
Each was led by charismatic figures who dreamed of a new way of living。 Rabindranath Tagore， Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst， Mushanokoji Saneatsu， G。 I。 Gurdjieff， Eberhard and Emmy Arnold and Gerald Heard all struggled to turn ambitious ideals into reality。 They – and their fellow communards – left their jobs， their homes and their social circles。 They faced mockery and persecution， penury， hunger and discomfort， and their own doubts about whether their efforts to change society would ever make a difference。
Anna Neima’s absorbing and vivid account of these collectives， from creation to collapse， reveals them to be full of eccentric characters， outlandish lifestyles and unchecked idealism。 They were dramatic， fractious places where high ideals collided with the need to feed the chickens， clean the toilets， bring up squabbling children and grow the grain for the daily bread。
These communities were small in scale and dismissed in their time。 Yet， a century later， their influence still resonates in realms as disparate as progressive education， environmentalism， medical research and mindfulness training。 They provided， and continue to provide， a rich store of inspiration for those who aspire to improve the world。 Without them， the post-war world would have been a poorer place。
Reviews
Leo
，
TW: mentions of death， eugenics， nazis， cult leaders， warVery interesting reading about these communities that started before a large war and after a huge pandemic。 You can see how history keeps repeating and how humanity tries to come to terms with society
Jenni Ho-Huan
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If you ever heard of Tagore， you would want to read this book！ It's about dreamers who worked at their dreams， watch them unravel。。and even though their communities may no longer exist in form and function as when it began， these communities trigger social and political changes。 Power to dreaming I say！ If you ever heard of Tagore， you would want to read this book！ It's about dreamers who worked at their dreams， watch them unravel。。and even though their communities may no longer exist in form and function as when it began， these communities trigger social and political changes。 Power to dreaming I say！ 。。。more
Julian Walker
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This fascinating and highly readable book looks at six experiments in re-engineering society though communal effort， and shows though their examples that changing the fabric of society should be welcomed。 A superbly researched and stimulating read - which for me shows that now， more than ever， we need to challenge existing mores， and look to analyze the appropriateness of the fabric of our society。 I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned anything， or wants to learn more about fre This fascinating and highly readable book looks at six experiments in re-engineering society though communal effort， and shows though their examples that changing the fabric of society should be welcomed。 A superbly researched and stimulating read - which for me shows that now， more than ever， we need to challenge existing mores， and look to analyze the appropriateness of the fabric of our society。 I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned anything， or wants to learn more about free thinking。 Most excellent。 。。。more
Matthew Loftus
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A fun， fascinating look at six utopian communities that were founded in the period between the World Wars （most notably the Briderhof）。 Most of the profiles were shorter than I would have hoped and others not as interesting， but overall a good book for everyone who has ever thought about going off and founding their own community。
John
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The book is an interesting description of different attempts to implement a utopian society （sect？） in practice， highlighting the endogenous challenges （personalities， incentives） and exogenous difficulties （geography， financing and commerce， surrounding incomprehension， persecution）。 As such， the book makes a salutary complement to the fictional dreams of utopia of Skinner’s Walden Two 1948）， Morris’s News From Nowhere （1890）， and More’s Utopia （1551）。
Susana
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This is one of those books hard to rate because it’s a good， well-written， well-research book， about an interesting topic but the people IN the book are oh-so-unlikeable。 I am really interested in making the world a better place; I *want* to make the world a better place; and yet I couldn’t relate to these utopians。 I could hardly not smack the book in some chapters。 These are mostly wealthy people playing house with their fortunes and/or donations from other wealthy people。 I understand that th This is one of those books hard to rate because it’s a good， well-written， well-research book， about an interesting topic but the people IN the book are oh-so-unlikeable。 I am really interested in making the world a better place; I *want* to make the world a better place; and yet I couldn’t relate to these utopians。 I could hardly not smack the book in some chapters。 These are mostly wealthy people playing house with their fortunes and/or donations from other wealthy people。 I understand that the First World War was a shock like no other， quickly followed by the Spanish Flu， and that people were genuinely trying to figure out a better way to live in society。 But not only these are very privileged people， I also take issue with the ideia of retreating to communities instead of engaging with the whole of society as a methodology （nothing against said communities， just the notion that that’s the way to change the world）。 I understand that some people are more charismatic than others， but I also take issue with the whole guru thing that some of the leaders of these communities have going on （*cof cof* Gurdjieff - the con artist vibe is strong with this one）。 Ultimately， even these “utopias” failed in the practical sense， I think that every time someone tries to do better， everyone benefits from the intellectual exercise and its practical application。 To imagine an utopia is to ascertain what do we want as humans and how do we want to live; is to add to the great conversation that has been going on since we exist - therefore it’s never a failure。 。。。more
Alexis
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A few rich people in the interwar period who had huge egos and no jobs thought they could change the world。 They didn’t。The book seems well-researched and is mostly engaging/accessible and occasionally funny （I wasn’t sure whether this was ever intentional）。 However the chapter on the Bruderhof is brutally， brutally boring。 I almost didn’t get to the end of the book after that。 I’m not sure why so much space is given to what is basically an ultra-conservative， religious sub-sect。 At least the ot A few rich people in the interwar period who had huge egos and no jobs thought they could change the world。 They didn’t。The book seems well-researched and is mostly engaging/accessible and occasionally funny （I wasn’t sure whether this was ever intentional）。 However the chapter on the Bruderhof is brutally， brutally boring。 I almost didn’t get to the end of the book after that。 I’m not sure why so much space is given to what is basically an ultra-conservative， religious sub-sect。 At least the other utopians were quite interesting or amusing， like the Rasputin-esque Gurdjieff who was basically a highly proficient con artist。Neima’s attempts to credit these projects with having had an influence on the way we lived/live seems quite a stretch and she provides little to no hard evidence for this。 And to suggest that what the world needs post-pandemic is another bunch of elites to drop out of society and use up their trust funds while they play ‘Enlightenment’ seems like a cheap and risible attempt to provide a reason for this book existing。 。。。more
Koen
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Surprisingly fascinating read about six alternative living communities between the two world wars。After the horrors of the Great War apparently， and perhaps understandably， many thinkers were in search of new ways to shape community。 Even before the war some minds were already thinking about this。 When the war ended many communities were formed with different philosophies。While most failed some of the principles conceived found their way into the broader society and all these experiments can be Surprisingly fascinating read about six alternative living communities between the two world wars。After the horrors of the Great War apparently， and perhaps understandably， many thinkers were in search of new ways to shape community。 Even before the war some minds were already thinking about this。 When the war ended many communities were formed with different philosophies。While most failed some of the principles conceived found their way into the broader society and all these experiments can be seen as a prelude to the post WWII counter cultures and the more well-known communes of that era。It's also interesting to think about these alternative ways of living in relation to current society。 。。。more
Amanda Rosso
，
Whether or not one appreciates this book， it's undeniably fascinating: it has been hard to read， because I've spent my entire life trying to find my utopia， a place and people with whom I could share my views and practice， change the world if you will， and I have always encountered the ridicule and oppression of a system that sustains itself by crushing every alternative。 It not pleasant to read about the egotistic and fallible men and women that tried to build utopian loves for themselves and o Whether or not one appreciates this book， it's undeniably fascinating: it has been hard to read， because I've spent my entire life trying to find my utopia， a place and people with whom I could share my views and practice， change the world if you will， and I have always encountered the ridicule and oppression of a system that sustains itself by crushing every alternative。 It not pleasant to read about the egotistic and fallible men and women that tried to build utopian loves for themselves and others， but it's even harder to recognise the inevitability of failure when it comes to utopias。 But， as the author brilliantly observed in her conclusions "While few practical utopias last for long， utopian living is extraordinarily generative。"Although the practicality of living at the margins of society， creating a perfectly equal utopia， self sufficient and pure， where everyone can cultivate only the best aspects of human nature might be impossible， to dream， plan and try to find solutions is a permanent condition of the human soul。 Long live the utopians， even when we fail。 。。。more
Sarah
，
This was an interesting look into six different communitarian living projects。 It doesn't go into a great deal of detail， there's between 35-40 pages on each of them。 But it gives an idea of how some of the ideas percolated into the mainstream and why some of the others didn't。It was particularly interesting that one of the reasons some of the 'utopias' died out was because the external society progressed and evolved， while the projects stayed the same， or at least similar enough to their foundi This was an interesting look into six different communitarian living projects。 It doesn't go into a great deal of detail， there's between 35-40 pages on each of them。 But it gives an idea of how some of the ideas percolated into the mainstream and why some of the others didn't。It was particularly interesting that one of the reasons some of the 'utopias' died out was because the external society progressed and evolved， while the projects stayed the same， or at least similar enough to their founding principles to be left behind。It has a lot of references and bibliography which I liked because it's left me wanting to know more。It's a book I can imagine a few of my friends enjoying but I only found out about it because it was in the New Books section at the library。 I hope the publisher promotes it a bit more。 。。。more
Molly
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Very well written， listened to audio version。 Really enjoyed all of the explanations to worldwide political influences at the time。 Well worth a read。
Kat Hill
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I was completely engrossed by The Utopians， and read it over the course of a few days。 Alternative communities like these are a fascinating topic anyway， but the book is engaging and beautifully written。 It felt well researched but never heavy handed for it。 Enjoyable and really interesting。 Recommended。
Rachel Watson
，
A thoroughly good， accessible read - a thoughtful and stimulating tour of post WW1 attempts to shape a better world。 Mostly impractical， sometimes bonkers though these communities were， the account of them is never less than vivid and thought-provoking。 Topical in the search for a balance of head， heart and hand， most of these communities were stronger on head and heart and largely short on both economic and practial implementation。 Recommended。
Maria Botcharova
，
This is a fascinating and very entertaining book。 Anna Neima's fluent prose is a pleasure to read as she tells the stories of six communities whose utopian ideals struggled with practicalities of living and of fundamental human nature。 This isn't a subject I knew very much about before I picked the book up。 I've spent many joyful summer days engrossed in their worlds。 This is a fascinating and very entertaining book。 Anna Neima's fluent prose is a pleasure to read as she tells the stories of six communities whose utopian ideals struggled with practicalities of living and of fundamental human nature。 This isn't a subject I knew very much about before I picked the book up。 I've spent many joyful summer days engrossed in their worlds。 。。。more
Karl Wardlaw
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