Late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century Europe are classified by a time of change and the start to new beginnings. The Black Death left all of Europe in shambles and in a state of extreme disorder. The population decreased dramatically and the economic, social and political state was extremely hindered. Through the reformation and renaissance Europe finally began to somewhat recover from this catastrophe. This time of change became a cultural movement all across Europe that began to reform and mend the problems that the people were dealing with. Social changes were made regarding the hierarchy in society. Political changes were made regarding the ruling of the city-states. And economic changes were made regarding available jobs and the selling of products. These changes are individually positive steps for Europe in recovering from the Black Death. But, problems arise when all these changes are put together and because of how drastic these changes are. It’s not that people are necessarily against these changes as a whole, but they simply don’t know what to make of them. In Utopia, More speaks of a perfect society where there are rules to deal with all economic, social and political problems that may appear. For those that had problems with the way Europe was changing in the 15th and 16th centuries, More made up Utopia to show that what was occurring was not as bad as it seemed.
In regards to social standings within a community it was becoming much easier to move classes during this time. Hardworking men and women were able to work hard and earn money and than use that money to buy themselves into a higher class. The newly rich people were able to use their money to move themselves up to a higher social standing and...
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...s, but because of the strict rules no change will ever come about in the future and no advancements will be made; in turn the society would be at a standstill. While the rest of the world would be advancing Utopia would be on its own island slowly getting left behind and eventually would become a place in the distance. Europe is a place of prosperity and needs to keep shifting as the times are changing. There may be problems to overcome, but that is part of life. All of the changes in Europe are not ideal and sometimes wars break out, but it is the vocal people and the development of technology and lifestyles that keep Europe on top and moving towards better things. The Utopian society seems ideal in a distance, but up close it is far from it. The reformation in Europe may have been an unstable time, but it is what has influenced Europe to be the way it is now.
The authors therefor saw the ‘utopian’ societies to be a trap for weak minded publics, and that once in place, such systems would be able to perpetuate indefinitely due to the efficiency at which they protect and propagate themselves. Through fear, diversion and sedation the utopia can maintain a strong grip on the people it encompasses before anyone realizes the sacrifices made. The popularity of these books does rule out the possibility of such a society coming into existence in the future, however. The state of people is not about to change, and their ignorance will continue regardless of the harshness of the wake up calls issued.
Utopia is a term invented by Sir Thomas More in 1515. However, he traces the root two Greek words outopia and eutopia which means a place does not exist and a fantasy, invention. It is widely accepted that Plato was to first to picture a utopian order. In his masterpiece, “Republic”, he formed the principles of ideal commonsense and his utopia (Hertzler, 1922:7). After the classical age, Sir Thomas More assumed to be the first of the utopian writers in early modern period. As a humanist, he gave the world in his “Utopia” a vision of a perfect communistic commonwealth (the history of utopian thought). Utopia’s influence on contemporary and rival scholars is so deep that it has given its name to whole class of literature. Following the appearance of More’s Utopia, there was a lack of Utopian literature for nearly a century (Hertzler, 1922:7). This period ended with the works of Francis Bacon, Campanelle and Harrington. These early modern utopians, being the children of Renaissance, filled with a love of knowledge and high respect for the newly truths of science. Thus, they believed that the common attainment of knowledge means the largest participation of all members of society in its joys and benefits. After the period of early Utopians, continuation of a sprit of French Revolution and initial signs of industrial revolution resulted in the emergence of a new group of Utopians called Socialist Utopians (Hertzler, 1922: 181). The word “Socialism” seems to have been first used by one of the leading Utopian Socialists, St Simon. In politics utopia is a desire that never come true neither now nor afterwards, a wish that is not based on social forces (material conditions and production) and is not supported by the growth and development of political, class forces. This paper discusses the validity of this claim, tries to present and evaluate the political reforms, if any, offered by Socialist Utopians.
The Effects of The Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
It is insignificant, for example, that no new social class came to power through the door of the American Revolution. Degler says, “ The men who engineered the revolt were largely members of the colonial ruling class. Peyton Randolph and Patrick Henry were well-to-do members of the Virginia Assembly; Washington, reputed to be the richest man in America, was an officer in the Virginia militia.” (Degler 125) This is showing how the social classes stayed the same and didn’t change because all the wealthy and popular people stayed wealthy and
Pandemics, once started, are expected to spread worldwide. They cannot be stopped from spreading, once they outbreak, they continuously spread. The Black Death was a disease that spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. There were approximately 25 million deaths in Europe alone. The Black Death was caused by the bacterium called Yersinia Pestis during the 13th century. The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague was caused by a single contamination of one person. The Black Death was caused by a single bacterium, overcrowding in areas like Europe, which effected a huge part of the population by simply killing it off.
The intention of this work was to open the minds of its readers, in this case the people of Europe. This is the case of every writing in relation to philosophy and politics. Utopia can easily be restricted to satire and art; nevertheless, this work is so much more. The channel of communication was unorthodox; nonetheless, it took creativity and ingenuity to make ideas as radical has his were during the 16th century to be transmissible to those who had the eye and mind to interpret it. This work, like various others has its flaws and key pros. This system cannot be seriously enacted into society today due to its limitations for the advancement of society. That said this is a great starting point for colonization on distant planets and the bases for a new version of democracy that could evolve into something more desirable and unimagined today.
A perfect society has always been the goal for many; unfortunately it has only existed in books. The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli, written in 1513, provides necessary information to become a Prince who will obtain, keep, and please his empire. Thomas More's Utopia, written in 1516, creates an ideal civilization that will live happily, comfortably, and without any problems. Both books attempted to solve problems within a society by critiquing other institutions and creating their own solutions. With the rise in cities, trade, and the economy in the 15th century, people began to realize order and structure in a society is necessary to flourish. Machiavelli and More left a modern legacy by striving for a better well being in societies and creating an ideal civilization that would prosper even in times of social, economic, and political difficulty.
As stated in the textbook, the wealthiest people were seaport merchants that made their business on imports, exports, banks and insurance companies, and urban real estate. An example would be the Boston Brahmins who were a cluster of old Protestant families in Boston that constituted the city’s social elite by the early 19thcentury. The upper class enjoyed the prosperity industrialization granted them as they achieved luxury and extravagance. Below the social elite was a growing middle class that included lawyers, salesmen, clerks, retail merchants, and accountants. Industrialization provided occupations that allowed people to lift themselves higher in the social strata The middle class took advantage of their increased wages by living comfortably and providing an education for their next generation in order to maintain their social standing.
In 1516 Thomas More published Utopia, which is the a beginning of the idea of a perfect society that was possibly the prominent humanist reform of a culture rebirth called the renaissance. More observes Six hour work days that were enough to contribute to a comfortable life in a community. Enough to produce plenty of everything if everyone contributes surprisingly, yet obvious if the unemployed, beggars or the people doing unnecessary work started to be instrumental in what the human race consumes. In utopia he viewed that “ Everyone gets a fair share, so there are never any poor men or beggars. Nobody owns anything, but everyone is rich.” Obviously through history people have normally been segregated into two groups workers that produce for minimal reward, and those who gain from that production from five hundred years ago to modern culture. Noticing that “No living creature is naturally greedy” as more says, yet if the society breeds a certain culture than the people will have that, so reward and incentify greed you get more rapacity same with other so called human nature such as
George Gilliam Marx/More Comparative Essay English 215 In both Thomas More’s Utopia and Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, we see the authors portray two different visions of an improved reality in which all citizens are on an equal plane with one another. Both works stem from the authors’ own grievances regarding the ‘status quo’, and seek to provoke serious thought and (in Marx’s case) action about the existing state of affairs in their respective times. The context of both of these works is quite important when considering the substance of Utopia and the Communist Manifesto – Thomas More lived in a time when Europe’s government was based on of Feudalism, meaning royal families and rich nobles had the overwhelming majority of power. Marx lived during the Industrial Revolution, when class antagonisms became rather aggressive due to the major gap between rich and poor (Bourgeois and Proletariat) as a result of the greater need for a large number of workers and the subsequent wealthy minority. Utopia and the Communist Manifesto are similar in the way that they propose or at least stir visions of major changes in ideology, but both have a number of key differences as well. More’s Utopia is more like a fictional story on the surface, but of course there is a great deal of depth to this piece of literature. Utopia is set mainly as a conversation between three men: More, Hythloday, and Giles. Hythloday is arguably the most significant character in this story, as he is the one relaying all of the information about the land of Utopia to More. Hythloday went on many explorations with Amerigo Vespucci, and came across the island “Utopia” in his travels – there he had the opportunity to act almost like an anthropologist, observing and studyin...
My first takeaway is during this time the differences between social classes were reduced due to literacy and political participation. People now had more opportunities for social advancement, education, and to have a overall “better life”. My second takeaway is “mass production created a mass society in which prosperity spread to different classes”. People in all classes had access to cheap, factory made clothes and mass production generally lowered the cost of everything. My third takeaway is the the field of science was rapidly growing. Fields such as anthropology, psychology, and most importantly sociology were introduced. Sociology is the study of human society and over this time period it was greatly developed.
As the middle class began to further divide, those who grew in wealth became known as a banking/industrial class. Along with their sudden economic prosperity there came a desire for social transformation- an aspiration for new aristocracy. They carried their traditional middle class values into prominence with their accumulation of wealth. They sought to achieve a merit oriented Society rather than social climbing, for their children's sake, into the existing one based solely on birth. This hindered the new class from ever attaining Aristocratic Social acceptance for their new wealth and deemed them the nouveaux riche. Despite obvious disapproval from the Aristocracy the nouveaux riche continued their economic ascent through "personal contact [which] was a crucial element in filling posts" (Loftus 5). This dependence upon others for mounting economic standing was contrary to the middle class value of independence. This industrial class was forced to rely upon the connections, potentially aristocratic, in order to succeed. Loftus explains that middle-class values were carved out in these attempts to define a society based on merit rather than aristocratic privilege. However, the importance of cultural capital and social networks to success in the period implies that the rise of the middle-classes in the Victorian period saw the replacement of one set of privileges with another (Loftus 4). However the Nouveaux Riche failed to fully assimilate into aristocratic society due to lack of pedigree.
Utopia as a text is a clear reflection and representation of More’s passion for ideas and art. Through the character of Raphael, More projects and presents his ideas, concepts and beliefs of politics and society. More’s Utopia aims to create a statement on the operations and effectiveness of the society of England. This text is a general reflection of More’s idea of a perfectly balanced and harmonious society. His ideas and concepts of society somewhat contrast to the rest of 16th century England and indicate a mind that was far ahead of its time. A number of issues and themes are raised throughout the text to which More provides varying views and opinions. These are transmitted and projected through the perspectives of the fictional Raphael, More and Giles.
Early Modern Europe experienced several tragedies in which the citizens sensed that there must be a better way to live where happiness was more familiar. Alterations for what truly defines absolute happiness in a society during these times of catastrophe were expressed through utopian literature. Thomas More’s Utopia, Tomasso Campanella’s City of the Sun, and Caron De Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro together attempt to answer what truly creates a happy civilization during different periods of crisis within Europe. Each of these utopian literature’s suggest a different origin that happiness derives from, soundly signifying that change in Europe would be beneficial. The revolutionary ideas of change in Europe proposed by Utopia, City of the Sun, and The Marriage of Figaro through their individual utopias, demonstrated their beliefs that such change of social classes, the expression of pleasures morally, and a more unified government would lead to a happier, less corrupt society.
Because they are described in a detailed manner, the Utopia book itself seems to be enough to be a blueprint for the future. However, Thomas More clearly stated that he just wishes Europeans to follow some good qualities of the Utopian society—“there are many things in the Utopian commonwealth that in our own societies I would wish rather than expect to see” (97)—because he himself knows that it is impossible for any country to be like Utopia. This is apparent, because Utopia is possible on the premise that every factor comes together to create this ideal society. Even the geography has to contribute to this premise, as Hythloday explains the geography of Utopia as the place where strangers cannot enter without one of them (39). Moreover, from diligent and compassionate Utopians’ characteristics and their ways of life, they seem to be successful in reaching the fullest of every aspect of their life including physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, and emotional, when it is hardly possible to even have one person like that in real life.