The utopia of the English humanist Thomas More, first published in Latin in 1516, gave its name to an entire genre of reflections on the ideal arrangement of human society. More builds on the fundamental community principles of early Christian teaching, drawing inspiration from ancient literature, reports of overseas discoveries, and the texts of his friend Erasmus of Rotterdam. He does not shy away from irony, and through the narrative of the customs of the inhabitants of the island of Utopia (from the Greek ‘ou-topos’, meaning ‘no place’), along with reflections on the possibilities of regulating human pride or reforming criminal law, he places these thoughts in the mouth of a rather untrustworthy sailor, Raphael Hythloday. The chosen genre of the Platonic dialogue allows him to present social issues from various perspectives without diminishing their urgency.