The Tangible and Utopia: Thomas Molnar's Critique

This lecture is an introduction to the moral dimension of private  property as explicated in the Catholic thought of Thomas Molnar in his book Utopia: The Perennial Heresy. It explains Molnar’s basic objection to utopian ideas as a phenomenon and its basis in Natural Law.  The role of private property in resistance to utopianism, prompted by the latter’s apparent innate antagonism, is the key focus. Molnar examined this aspect of utopian collectivism in terms akin to subsidiarity and saw in private property a function through which Man could express himself morally. The lecture shows how, not just Molnar’s views, but also those of other dystopian minded sceptics remain relevant for our times. The lecture was originally drafted for oral presentation at a post-graduate conference at Macquarie University, Sydney Australia, May 2015.

Luke Torrisi is a retired legal practitioner and a Fellow of the Sydney Traditionalist Forum. He was recently awarded a doctorate for his thesis Dystopia and the Traditionalist Conservative Mind: a New Study of Burke, Eliot, Voegelin and Kirk. Previously he was the host of "Radio Carpe Diem", Sydney's only explicitly traditionalist & paleoconservative radio programme broadcasting at 88.9FM.

Thomas Molnar, Utopia, the Perennial Heresy (Sheed and Ward, 1967)

Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (Chatto & Windus, 1932)

Yevgeny Zamyatin, We (E. P. Dutton, 1924)