The Nowhere Place

If we had a chance to live in utopia, would we jump at it?

According to Google, there are only seven communities worldwide named "Utopia," and six of them are in the United States. Actually, though, that statement is misleading. The Utopia in Kansas is now a ghost town, and the ones in Florida, New York and Illinois have been subsumed into larger communities with other names. A few people live in what was Utopia, Ohio, but the community by that name is now a historical memory. Utopia, Texas, is still there, although with a population of less than 250. The one not in the United States is in New South Wales, Australia, and it seems to be little more than a spot on the map.

It is perhaps significant that no utopias have really thrived. The word "utopia" was coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516. He used it as the name of a fictional island society in a novel he published with a long Latin title that translates On the Best State of a Republic and on the New Island of Utopia. His book depicted a communal society where everything was shared and...