Everyday Utopia

What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

A “fascinating” (The Wall Street Journal), “spirited and inspiring” (Jacobin) tour through the ages in search of the thinkers and communities that have dared to reimagine how we might better live our daily lives.

In the 6th century BCE, the Greek philosopher Pythagoras—a man remembered today more for his theorem about right-angled triangles than for his progressive politics—founded a commune in a seaside village in what’s now southern Italy. The men and women there shared their property, lived as equals, and dedicated themselves to the study of mathematics and the mysteries of the universe.

Ever since, humans have been dreaming up better ways to organize how we live together, pool our resources, raise our children, and determine who’s part of our families. Some of these experiments burned brightly for only a brief while, but others carry on today: from the Danish cohousing communities that share chores and deepen neighborly bonds, to matriarchal Colombian ecovillages where residents grow their own food; and from Connecticut, where new laws make it easier for extra “alloparents” to help raise children not their own, to China where planned microdistricts ensure everything a busy household might need is nearby.

One of those startlingly rare books that upends what you think is possible, Everyday Utopia provides a “powerful reminder that dreaming of better worlds is not just some fantastical project, but also a political one” (Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author of Good and Mad). This “must-read” (Thomas Piketty, New York Times bestselling author of A Brief History of Equality) offers a radically hopeful vision for how to build more contented and connected societies, alongside a practical guide to what we all can do in the meantime to live the good life each and every day.

©2023 Kristen R. Ghodsee. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“My god, this book is what I need right now! Exhilarating, good humored, and forward looking, it’s blown open my brain. What a powerful reminder that dreaming of better worlds is not just some fantastical project, but also a very serious political one.” —Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author of Good and Mad

“More could be possible than we imagine—that’s the liberating and inspirational message of Kristen Ghodsee’s sweeping feminist history of society at its most creative. What a gift she’s given us with this mind-broadening investigation into how for millennia our fellow human beings have reckoned with the toughest questions of fidelity, family, and love.” —Ada Calhoun, New York Times bestselling author of Why We Can't Sleep

“A fascinating read.” —The Wall Street Journal

Excellent on all accounts

This is a great history. Lots of things to learn and explore. Very positive and forward looking. Live long and prosper.

It Took a Woman

I know from reading this bio that men have contributed also to this area of a utopian future but I believe that women, such as Ms Ghodsee could see it better. Thanks
I’m about to listen to the whole thing over.

one of my favorite books of all time

this should be the most important thing people learn about in any society that wants to evolve and improve.

One of the best books on the importance of hope for a better future and imaging a new world

This book is great probably one of my favorites in this school of thought since I read Dawn of Everything and debt.

Wonderful narration!

Lisa Flanagan does an excellent job reading this provocative, original, and exciting book. I listened at 1.2 speed, and the narration was still easy to follow. Highly recommended.

Hope can be a radical change in the world

Kristine R. Ghodsee has an excellent approach to help open the mind of all listeners with an emphasis on the importance of thinking critically. This includes looking at you’re own perspectives critically and understanding historical utopias and the importance of striving for a future utopia. Before I read this I did not fully understand what a utopia is and I feel like it something I would like to strive for.

Must Read!

Likely the most eye opening book I’ve ever read. Wonderful to get some reassurance that dreaming is a necessary investment of time if we’re to have a better future!

Hope is good

The one thing I didn't hear clearly is about how we will care for the sick and mentally ill if we decide to uproot our systems? And how do you make people who do not want to work do so?

ABS

not as informative as I was hoping for & the anti USSR vibe leads me to guess this is another propaganda piece to an Anarchist tendency

9 hours of Communal parenting good, children bad

I'm sure this is not what the author meant in writing the book. But this book is a rant belittling domestic life and children. The choice to spend the majority of the book on this was unfortunate. As a person who lives on a regenerative farm, in community. I thought this book wouldn't be so anti parenting but that's what I gleaned from it, I'm sure she wanted to increase what we consider parenting. collective child rearing is what happens, it cannot be stop when we send kids to public school, watch TV, that is all collective parenting (not what we do here) there is no choice, there is only collective parenting -it's not weird or strange - dominant culture is what's wierd, I find it ubhorent. there is very little in the book about collective living or the lifestyle enjoyed by living in community. I'm truly disappointed, there are many ways to be in the world, alternative life and love styles that are all beautiful. but I hope folks seeking an alternative way to live find more resources when building their community.