Living in Utopia

Lucy Sargisson is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Nottingham, and is the author of two previous books on utopianism: 'Contemporary Feminist Utopianism' (Routledge 1996) and ' Utopian Bodies and the Politics of Transgression' (Routledge 1999) as well as a number of articles. Lyman Tower Sargent is Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri-St Louis. He is the author or editor of several books on utopianism and political ideologies, including 'The Utopia Reader' (edited with Gregory Claeys, New York University Press 1999), as well as numerous articles. He is also Editor of the Journal of Utopian Studies.

• Contents: Introductions; Contexts: New Zealand as a Utopia; The early days: the nineteenth century; The twentieth century: Beeville, James K. Baxter and the Ohu movement; Religious and spiritual communities; Cooperative lifestyles; Environmentalist communities; Conflict and longevity; Conclusion: what have we learned? Lasting lessons from New Zealand; Appendice I: Katajuta community agreements; Appendice II: recognized forms of land ownership in New Zealand; Works cited; Index.

’This is the first sustained study of contemporary communes in New Zealand, a nation with a long history of utopian aspiration and speculation, and offers an account of lived experience in over fifty communes. Living in Utopia will be of interest to scholars of utopian thought and experience and of intentional communities throughout the world.’ Professor Gregory Claeys, Professor of the History of Political Thought, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK ’This interesting book, dealing with extraordinary and radical experiments in communal living, makes a significant contribution to the sociology of intentional/utopian communities, cooperative living and social change. Highly recommended.’ Choice ’Living in Utopia is a fascinating, well-argued, cogent and well told portrait of utopias in New Zealand...it is also a wonderful social history...’ British Review of New Zealand Studies ’I found the picture painted of the wider utopian background that permeates New Zealand culture illuminating...’ Diggers and Dreamers