Utopia is a brilliant novel written by Thomas More. The idea of a utopia seems impossible, how can anyone live in a perfect place when perfection is in the eyes of the beholder? The Utopia in this novel is nothing more than abundant of already established ideas therefore it can’t not truly be a Utopia.
The abolition of private property is one of More's chief criticisms of Utopia; it seems to mimic the common understandings of communism, which Thomas More’s character Raphael has been accused of protecting not only by me, so this not a new concept.
” Most scholars fail to appreciate the significance of Utopian religious freedom because it stands in the shadow of communism, the other great founding principle of More's fictional republic. Raphael Hythlodaeus, Utopia's main character, describes Utopian communism in great detail, contrasting its virtues at length to the vices of private property in Europe. Indeed, he asserts that the abolition of private property is the key to European as well as Utopian political health” (Kessler and Sandford)
At this moment, More is disagreeing with Utopian policy and with Raphael Hythloday's interpretation of English society. I observed that Hythloday believes whatever the Utopians practice is right and is nowhere on the same status as communism. In the book, the Utopians believe that pride is what leads to poverty, people being hurt and all other sorts of disarray. By eliminating private property, class-based social stratification, and wealth, the Utopians feel that they’ve created the perfect political society, however they still have a class system since people are elected to higher positions and there is a governor elected for life, so there is even a little bit of popular sovereign...
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...and Hytholday means “speaker of nonsense”. Of course, if More were arguing that Utopia was actually an island I doubt he make up names that would say otherwise, even if it was for a literary effect.
Works Cited
Bruce, Susan. "Reason, Belief And Mortality In Thomas More's Utopia." Philological Quarterly 75.3 (1996): 267. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Kessler, Sanford. "Religious Freedom In Thomas More's Utopia."Review Of Politics 64.2 (2002): 207. World History Collection. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Pavkovic, Aleksandar. "Prosperity And Intellectual Needs: The Credibility And Coherence Of More's Utopia." Utopian Studies 4.1 (1993): 26. World History Collection. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Stein, Joshua. "Sir/St. Thomas More On The US Constitution: ‘More Perfect’ Is Not Utopian." Contemporary Justice Review 9.3 (2006): 317-328. Legal Collection. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
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.
This essay will attempt to analyze the connection between views of religion in the fictional island nation of Utopia and their views on religion. By the end of this paper, the reader should have an adequate understanding of the connections between Utopian religion and morality. For the purposes of this paper, the definition of religion shall use the erroneous assumption that religion only includes only the organized practice of believing in and appeasing a god[s]. This definition excludes the belief in an absence of a god, however this makes little difference for this paper, as most Utopians are monotheists and believe in an omnipotent god. With that clarification, the message of the paper may be communicated more clearly.
Before reading Utopia, it is essential that the reader understand that like Jonathan Swift’s, A Modest Proposal, Utopia is satirical. More creates a frame narrative in which Raphael Hythloday, the novel’s main character, recollects his observations of Utopia during his five-year stay. Hythloday spares no detail in his descriptions of Utopia, as he discusses everything from their military practices, foreign relations, religion, philosophy, and marriage customs. Interestingly enough, everything Hythloday discusses in Book II seems to be a direct response to of all of t...
Thomas More’s Utopia and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World , are novels about societies that differ from our own. Though the two authors have chosen different approaches to create an alternate society, both books have similarities which represent the visions of men who were moved to great indignation by the societies in which they lived. Both novels have transcended contemporary problems in society , they both have a structured, work based civilization and both have separated themselves from the ways of past society. It is important when reading these novels to focus on the differences as well as the similarities. The two novels differ in their views of love, religion, and the way to eliminate social classes. These differences seem to suggest that if we do not come closer to More’s goal in Utopia, we will end up in a society much like that of Huxley’s Brave New World.
In 1516, Thomas More first coined the term “Utopia” with his novel by the same name. The word itself is derived from the Greek words ou, which means not, and topos, meaning place. Combining those two words, you create a new meaning of “no -place”. Utopia itself is a place that does not exist. Utopia is nowhere. Throughout the history of Utopian literature, Utopia’s are meant to symbolize an ideal place or society, one often very different than the author's own. Within Thomas More’s Utopia, we see characteristics that contrast greatly with 16th century Europe. However, the ideal society in More’s Utopia tends to mask the consequences of said society, and with further consideration, shares characteristics with a Dystopia.
Conditionally being free within society from oppressive limitations, or the right to pursue after whatever makes one subjectively happy is human instinct. Equality, Liberty, and alongside the pursuit of happiness goes among with visualizing a place in which the economy, social conditions, and government, are perfect is the interpretation of an immaculate culture. As ideas are formed absorbing conciseness from one person to another, so did the start of forming a society. Slowly human culture began arriving to decisions establishing in one place developing their own food, fabricating a system of letters, and constructing permanent homes creating the first civilizations. The multitude of people living with each other in a more or less ordered
Moore, Thomas. "Utopia Book 2." Utopia by Thomas More. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of ambiguous dualities that forces the reader to question More’s real view on the concept of a utopian society. However, evidence throughout the novel suggests that More did intend Utopia to be the “best state of the commonwealth.” The detailed description of Utopia acts as Mores mode of expressing his humanistic views, commenting on the fundamentals of human nature and the importance of reason and natural law while gracefully combining the two seemingly conflicting ideals of communism and liberalism.
First, the people of More's Utopia have a complex communism compared to our modern neo-fascist culture. In Utopia, the government owns the business world. The government forces men to work the land in two-year stints. In modern society, the government does not own the economy but it does control the economy. The government does not make men be farmers but it does tell farmers how much to grow. Furthermore, it penalizes those who disobey its command.
The most key and predominant aspect of More’s Utopian society is the abolishment of private property. This then leads to a battle and debate over the common welfare of the people against their private interests. Raphael and by extension More, feels that society and people in general greatly benefit from the loss of private interests. The general loss of privacy in Utopia leads to a situation in which ‘everyone has an eye on you’ so that the people of Utopia are ‘practically forced to get on’ with their jobs and ‘make some proper use’ of their spare time. This system creates a city in which every single member works and contributes to society in a positive way. Under this arrangement each member is considered equal in that no one man owns greater possessions or property than another.
In his famous work Utopia, Sir Thomas More describes the society and culture of an imaginary island on which all social ills have been cured. As in Plato's Republic, a work from which More drew while writing Utopia, More's work presents his ideas through a dialogue between two characters, Raphael Hythloday and More himself. Hythloday is a fictional character who describes his recent voyage to the paradisal island of Utopia. Throughout the work, Hythloday describes the laws, customs, system of government, and way of life that exist in Utopia to an incredulous and somewhat condescending More.
Frank E. Manuel and Manuel Frtizie, Utopian Thought in the Western World. London: Belknap Press 1982
He uses the characters to bring about points that went against common thought at the time. More does give some insight to his thoughts when he says, “When Raphael had finished his story, I was left thinking that not a few of the laws and customs he had described as existing among the Utopians were really absurd” (p. 106). More explains these things consisted of war, religion, and other smaller customs. More next says that “… my chief objection was to the basis of their whole system, that is, their communal living and moneyless economy” (p. 106). It is clear here that More was not completely for the Utopian society. He even goes as far as dismissing the communal practices which is the basis of the entire society in the first place. It makes sense since he was heavily involved in the Roman Catholic Church and an important figure. Much of Utopia goes completely against the norms that were set by 1516 in England. More also ends book II by stating, “Meantime, while I can hardly agree with everything he said… I freely confess that in the Utopian commonwealth there are very many features that in our own societies I would wish rather than expect to see” (p. 107). More is showing that even though he doesn’t agree with many of the aspects of Utopia, that it isn’t all bad. The only problem is that More poses the practices he likes with wishful thinking and not practicality. According to More,
Sir Tomas More’s Utopia indirectly criticizes fifteen hundredth European catholic society of corruption, violence, poverty and of inequality. As a lord chancellor to Henry VIII, Thomas More was well aware of these problems and wrote a satire to propose his awareness in a carful manner, as we can see his hesitation to publish the book on his letter to Peter Giles especially when he described his “two minds” (More, 8). To criticize the problems of his times on a safe platform, he created a fictional character Raphael Hythloday, who is wise and knowledgeable of new places from the sailing experience with Amerigo Vespucci. This not only reflects the times in which people stepped out their voyages to the New World but also provides a foil to the European society—the