Immersed within the writings of Sir Thomas More and Henry David Thoreau is a depiction of a world challenged by limited natural resources, sustainability, overpowering religious views, and governmental constraints. It is within their everyday lives that they observe this land; therefore they must provide ideas for preventing these problems. However, More and Thoreau have different methods to solving these problems. More stresses the need for social reforms, whereas Thoreau emphasizes the need for humans to take responsibility for their actions, thus both have constructed guidelines of an ideal society.
In Thomas More’s Utopia, agriculture is the foundation of the economy. The agricultural system embodies all citizens, men and women, to cultivate crops. Utopian agriculture is very industrious and according to More, the Utopians produce enough to supply their own nutritional needs as well as a reserve of food in case of hard times. More views the land primarily as an economic resource, although it is not to be taken for granted. Therefore, he designs his economy in a way that will not put strains on the limited resources of nature. The way he accomplishes this is simply by limited population growth. Although, More does not commend birth control, he establishes a city capacity. Thus, by avoiding concentrations of population, the Utopians are guaranteed to have even economic growth throughout the island. This in turn ensures that resources will be equally distributed between economic divisions and that not one piece of agricultural land will be subjected to more economic pressure than another.
The Utopian political structure, which is democratic in nature, is drastic compared to European governmenta...
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...erize his Utopia. Its population achieves pleasure and religious fulfillment through harmony with nature, devotion to a strict work ethic, as well as strict moral and ethical standards.
After viewing both concepts of an ideal society and comparing them to the current sociological debate, it’s clear that present day society emphasizes the need for individual action, instead of integrated and far-reaching reform. Thus, the Thoreauvian idea of individual reform encompasses modern society, unlike the integrated, comprehensive social actions as More describes.
WORKS CITED
More, Thomas, and Clarence Miller. Utopia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001. Print.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, and other writings. New York: Modern Library, 1950. Print.
Thoreau, Henry David. Civil disobedience. Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue;, 199. Print.
it should be learnt that the search for „utopia‟ is a contemplative one, and can never be
Thoreau distinguishes what he wishes his life was; he compares what he wants out of life to what he currently has. He says “I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary.” He makes note of how dear and important life is, and how he wishes to live in a way which he hadn’t been before, by making the most out of the life he has left.
The definition of Utopia is, “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.” The rules and controls listed above and the many more that are in the book “Anthem” describe a society trying to become collective but in a utopian way. The purpose of these rules and controls is to keep the society collectivist. Fear is what runs this society. “.
Even though it passed more that a hundred of years after Thoreau posted his essay, his ideas are still germane today. I can relate Thoreau’s concept not only to American government, but also to authorities all over the world. It doesn’t seem that the people rule the country anymore; the authorities are led by few individuals who have the most influence. Even though this is very visible, people don’t do anything about that, they are just some marionettes in the hands of the ones who rule the system. Many parliaments from the world lost the notion about making the laws to protect the people, but not themselves as the higher class of the country.
Have you ever woke up in the morning and asked yourself, “Why am I living this life?” Throughout the book of Walden, Henry David Thoreau questions the lifestyles that people choose; he makes his readers wonder if they have chosen the kind of lifestyle that give them the greatest amount of happiness. Thoreau stated, “Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them().” This quote is important because most of society these days are so caught up in work and trying to make ends meet that they lose the values in life. Thoreau was forced to change his life when he found himself unhappy after a purchase for a farm fell through. On Thoreau’s journey he moves to Walden and builds a house and life from nothing but hard work, symbolizes many different objects.
Additionally, Emerson and Thoreau both warn the reader of the dangers when individuality is marginalized. Emerson views society as a “conspiracy against the manhood of every one of...
This serene society greatly contradicts the one we live in. Our society is furnished with hatred and warfare, yet in return, we are given freedom and the privilege of having distinctive characters. Given the nature of human beings, our society is more idealistic to live in. Utopia is an imaginary state, which consists of people who believe they are more capable of living in a group than alone. In such a community, the welfare of the group is the primary interest compared to the comfort of individuals.
From the American Revolution to independence movements in Latin America, the forming a commonwealth free of vice, tyranny, and inequality has always been one of man’s greatest intentions. In this commonwealth, everyone’s needs are met, society is free of all hierarchies, and everyone works for the common good. However, history has proved that this commonwealth can never truly exist. On a rudimentary level, it is impossible for any large group to properly function without someone or a group of people creating and enforcing the necessary laws and customs. On a deeper level, it seems impossible to eschew avarice, inequality, war, and many other aspects commonwealths face. Sir Thomas More, a lawyer, statesman, and philosopher imagined this perfect commonwealth and dubbed it, Utopia. In Utopia, Sir Thomas More describes a place where all citizens are content with their lives and there is no social inequality. However, readers easily notice contradictions that are present in this seemingly perfect place. In their treatment of gold and iron, slaves, and gender roles, Utopians prove to readers that a commonwealth free of hierarchies, vice, and tyranny can never truly exist.
Throughout Thoreau’s essay, he expressed his opinions and beliefs on the importance of civil disobedience in a society. He talked about how one must use his or her moral sense, conscience, to decide what is just and unjust. From here, Thoreau urged his readers to take action, to stop the machine from continuing its lifeless duty. His call to action is if a system is prone to corruption, the people must disobey it. This means that personal endangerment may be needed to do what is right. Going against the status quo to uphold justice and ethics is the basic message behind Thoreau’s essay.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” In this quote, Eleanor is expressing that you should always take advantage of the universal human right to be an individual. From time immemorial, many of those who have led meaningful and enjoyable lives have shared one particular trait in common: individualism. Chris McCandless and Thoreau were no different, they both embodied individualism and as a result they have unknowingly inspired generations.
To conclude, Thoreau believed that people should be ruled by conscience and that people should fight against injustice through non-violence according to “Civil Disobedience.” Besides, he believed that we should simplify our lives and take some time to learn our essence in the nature. Moreover, he deemed that tradition and money were unimportant as he demonstrated in his book, Walden. I suggested that people should learn from Thoreau to live deliberately and spend more time to go to the nature instead of watching television, playing computer games, and among other things, such that we could discover who we were and be endeavored to build foundations on our dreams.
The hierarchy of society is a crucial in a discourse of utopianism and communism. Note that I am distinguishing utopianism from communism. From Marx’s point of view, communism is scientific, realistic, and probable. The decision-making apparatus of Utopia is very democratic in nature. This is something certainly to be applauded and in keeping in touch
More delivers a concept called Utopia, which explains an ideal way of substantiality. One and all in Utopia has individual trade to do and that trade is agriculture. In addition, Utopians are educated on an additional trade to go along with agriculture. They each labor the same quantity of hours, which essentially equals a limited work day. There is no currency accepted for goods in Utopia, instead goods are provided for Utopians. Furthermore, Utopians all possess identical beliefs, including dress, education, and worshiping god. This within itself is a virtuous society that is extremely self-sustaining. Essentially, the whole world living in peace and harmony. In addition to this, the diseased, disabled,
...y, considering citizenship and working for the benefit of society, while Henry Thoreau emphasizes the illusory nature and imperfection of the state and sees individual freedom in unity with nature and rejection of pseudo-needs enslaving people.
Manuel, Frank E. and Fritzie P. Manuel. Utopian Thought in the Western World. Cambridge, MA: Belknap-Harvard Press, 1979.