Part One:
The concept of Utopia has been around for many years, tracing back to ancient Greece. The word for Utopia came from the Greek words ou and topos, meaning no place. Even from the beginning, the concept of Utopia was not seemed to be possible.
The first real concept of Utopia was seen in Plato’s Republic, where it presented the very first model of what a utopian society would appear to be. Many years later, in the sixteenth century, Sir Thomas More wrote his book about utopia called, Utopia. This was written in responds to the difficult times England was facing, in social and political terms. It basically showed what could be achieved if previous historical conflict causing actions no longer happened. After the success of More’s utopian concept, many other intellects followed in writing their own utopian concepts all throughout the seventeenth century. Of all the books written, Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis was one of the most notable of them all. It shows how many utopian works seek the same general ideas with many different, varied implementations. After the seventeenth century and into the eighteenth, the American Revolution occurred. After the success of the Revolution, many intellects started to wonder what the society put in place would be like. Many experimental communities throughout the new found America were put in place, all striving to achieve an ideal society. None of these societies were able to be sustained, although in theory, many have persisted.
With the following of the American Revolution, Western Utopianism was created. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was seen in this new found utopianism that it was realistic and possible to create utopian societies. With no monarchial rein, it...
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...at I think is the best part of More’s utopia is that it is an equal society that has no money or currency. Since every member of the society is working simply for the common good, there being no belief in luxury, and everyone knowing how to grow food, there is no need to have a currency system. Since there is no system or currency, then there is no place for wealth to manifest thus one less prompter of greed. There is also no system of trading in Utopia, so truly everyone is one equal grounds, with the same capabilities and possessions as everyone else. This helps to eliminate the many causes of inequality, so the society that is presented in Utopia is an ideal society.
More’s society that he has created does have flaws of course, in my opinion anyway. First of all, the concept of how the utopians defend themselves in the matter of the hiring of the mercenaries
The fact that Utopians, due to their unique social structures, are able to live peacefully and without selfishness proves that greed is constructed from things such as scarcity and vanity as opposed to being innate in humans. Furthermore, the Utopians are able to live in a society where poverty and theft are unheard of and in which they can take things without paying, all due to the Utopian concept of eliminating private property. Their society, in which everything belongs to everyone, proves to be flourishing and functioning without a flaw. While some may suggest that taking away private property also takes away the incentive to work, the hardworking and successful Utopians prove otherwise. More chooses to address the elimination of private property and greed as the main underlying causes behind Utopia’s success as a society because this helps support one of his larger claims from the text, which is that the reason behind many of the non-utopian societies, such as the English society, being flawed is corruption. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate corruption, through the elimination of greed and private property, and create a more ideal society from which all members can
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 so-called Utopia – the quasi-perfect society – flourishes in Margaret Cavendish’s “The Description of a New World, Called a Blazing World” and Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. While the former is a dreamlike account of fantasy rule and the latter a pseudo-realistic travelogue, both works paint a picture of worlds that are not so perfect after all. These imperfections glitter like false gemstones in the paths of these Utopians’ religious beliefs, political systems, and philosophical viewpoints.
Between the 1820’s and 1860’s, Americans were trying new things and promoting different ideas and ways of thinking. Once such idea is that of a utopian society. A utopian society, simple put, means a perfect society. There are many examples of experiments at utopian society in the 1800’s.
Hythloday may have an active imagination, but his account of Utopia still contains some valuable truths. More himself says, "I freely admit that there are many features of the Utopian Republic which I should like though I hardly expect to see adopted in Europe." In a clever way, More ends Utopia with this statement, which is really a kind of challenge to the Europeans to outdo what was attempted by the Utopians, or just sloppily imagined by Hythloday. For More, the goal is not to copy a Utopia into the real world, but to move past its deceptive guidelines and work to make realistic improvement.
Whether the Utopians are being examined for their value of precious metals, the treatment of women, or how they worship, it is evident that there are some major inequalities within their society. However, any reader of More’s Utopia must have the ability to look past the tensions that are present, and read the work as More intended it to be read—satirically.
More, Sir Thomas. Utopia: A New Translation, Backgrounds, Criticism. Ed. and trans. Robert M. Adams. Toronto: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1988.
... world. Everyone would live, act, and look the same in this society. I don’t agree with Plato’s or Mores theory because I don’t think a person should work and achieve a nice home and have to switch houses with someone that might not have a nice as place as what I had. I agree with Lucian because if you work harder than someone else then shouldn’t get the same amount of money as them. Whatever job they do is how much money they should get not everyone gets the same amount. People could not think for their selves because it was dictated to them. After figuring out about this society, they are not perfect. They have some good things in their society like you don’t have to pay for anything or you go to the hospital without any fees or copays. In the end, Utopia will always be a different society that everyone would want to live in but hate it when they did. (More, 2011)
In the nineteenth century, man believed in the perfectibility of mankind and in the real possibility of an ultimate utopia, a time when man could all live together in peace. However, the events of the twentieth century have weakened that belief. Both cold and hot wars have followed each other in succession. Revolutions and civil wars have taken place and totalitarianism has become a fact that can hardly be ignored. Therefore, the modern age has become a time in which more anti-utopias have been envisioned than ever before.
Utopia is a reflection of More’s thoughts, feelings and opinions on politics and society at the time. While it may appear that Utopia is a representation of More’s ideal society and world, only some aspects are supported and agreed upon by More. He generally opposes and objects to certain trends of the Utopian society which he feels are ‘ridiculous.’ Despite this More still provides a comment on the social standards, ethics, operations and functions of the time. In doing this he presents his passion of ideas and art.
I believe that this society, at least the economic aspect of it, would be possible to attain. However, I believe it cannot happen with our entire world. More made a point by putting Utopia on an island in the middle of the "real world": there is no way to apply Utopia to the "real word". In order to create a Utopia like this today, we must take very young children and raise them apart from society. If we do this and teach them about the society we are trying to create, I believe their reason will make the Utopia a lasting one. But if we try to create this Utopia over the whole Earth, we will fail miserably. The world is filled with billions of people who have been raised in our current society, and it is human nature to resist change. The economic situation of More's Utopia is possible, but only in a situation very close to the one in his book.
In order to maintain a society free of social inequality both authors set up a civilization based on strict societal structure. In More’s Utopia, a system was set up so that all work was completed.
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.
Manuel, Frank E. and Fritzie P. Manuel. Utopian Thought in the Western World. Cambridge, MA: Belknap-Harvard Press, 1979.