News from nowhere, or, An epoch of rest : being some chapters from a utopian romance

"News from Nowhere" is a utopian socialist novel often ignored by Marxists and others who denounce it as backward-looking. It is true that Morris's vision of a society which has reverted to a more anti-technology agricultural base seems almost gentle by contemporary standards, but careful readers will gain insights into Morris's personal philosophy through this unique work. News from Nowhere (1890) is the most famous work of one of the greatest British writers and thinkers, William Morris. It is a utopian picture of a future communist society, drawing on the work of Ruskin and Marx and written in response to what Morris saw as soulless and mechanical visions of socialism. In this work of his last years, Morris distilled many of his leading ideas on politics, art and society, imagining a world in which capitalism has been abolished by a workers' revolution and nature and society have become beautiful habitations for humanity. In an era that has seen the collapse of state socialism, Morris's damning critique of this conception, and his positing of a powerful alternative, are compelling reasons for paying attention to this classic of British socialism.