Utopia is not a popular idea in conservatism. It conjures up visions of pie-in-the-sky unrealism or, worse, collectivism that leads to brutality and impoverishment. Conservatives value steadiness of practice, groundedness in human realities and social traditions, awareness of human fallenness, and a decentralization of power that is often inimical to perfectionist politics. If conservatives are skeptical of utopia in general, they will likely be skeptical of Utopia for Our Century, co-written by David Albertson and Jason Blakely. And yet there is much to learn from these authors’ treatment of utopia — even if there is much that the authors, too, could learn from the wisdom of the conservative tradition.
Albertson and Blakely avoid a chronic flaw in progressive utopianism: the neglect or degradation of the past, which corrodes programs for the future. The authors show no allergy to tradition and engage thinkers across the Western canon, with a special focus on Saint Thomas More and his Utopia. But the authors also explore More’s deep Catholic faith, which Albertson and Blakely share, and examine other texts by More, including his underappreciated Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation. For a book that is shaped by progressive principles, Utopia for Our Century remains grounded in tradition and a variety of conservative ideas.
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