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Critical analysis of Thomas More's utopia
Thomas More's utopia as social model
Thomas More's utopia as social model
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Living in Utopia
Private property is abolished in Utopia, and society is communally organized in such a way that there is no shortage and that everyone has work, food, a home and opportunities for cultural expression. Sounds great, eh? Would you like to live there, and if not, why? Your answer should take account of More's context (why he wrote Utopia?) and should be supported by reference to the text.
In Thomas More's Utopia life is very structured there is no crime or prejudices. The people live everyday the same as the last. They dress the same, live in houses that are all designed the same, have very strictly scheduled workdays, and very regulated family life. "Whatever you may think of their doctrines, you won't find a more prosperous country or a more splendid lot of people anywhere on earth."
In Utopia there is no such thing as private property so there is no crime. Everyone has what they need and can get anything that they need without complications. Money is not existent therefore when the people of Utopia need groceries or any other necessities they...
Imagine a place where everything is perfect. There is a place where there is no warfare, where all. All politics, laws, customs, and traditions are respected. A place where there is sameness among all the citizens and everyone is content and happy. This place would be considered a utopia.
In both of the purported "Utopian" worlds, the imperfect religious traditions, rigid governing systems, and askew philosophical beliefs mar what are otherwise model worlds for all other nations to imitate. Margaret Cavendish and Sir Thomas More, in their differing styles, are able to convey that no world is perfect, but there is room for change, for everyone can fabricate their own imaginary worlds and travelogues.
In order to create structure in a society, one must ensure the care of its people. In the imaginary civilization of Utopia, the main strategy is to "get through life as comfortably and cheerfully as we can, and help other members of our species to do so too" (More 92). More focuses on the well being of its citizens to create happiness and order within the society. He does this by initiating the idea of human rights and equality. With the sense of equality in society people can help each other to live blissfully, and stop trying to become better than their neighbors.
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 Utopia Reader defines the word utopia as “a nonexistent society described in detail and normally located in time and space.” (p.1) I would best define utopia as a fictional dream- paradise land where everything is peaceful, perfect and all runs smoothly. There is no crime disease, or pain. People are happy, kind and fair and have each other’s best
One of the various issues that has been an essential part of ethical and legal debate, over the history leaders tried to make Utopia. Every story ends for a reason and death brings an end to an each individual's dreams. Although the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, aims at presenting an evidently best and perfect world, the anxiety of freedom is abandoned. Basically, the point of Utopia is that it's an impression of 'ideal worlds'. What I believe, the right name ‘Utopia’ itself means "No-place" in this world. Even if we have perfect world; there is always one person who feels that there is something is missing. We are human we are born naturally with imperfection. I believe we are imperfect, utopia is non-existed land and author proves in his work. God has made everything for purpose we cannot do what we want because God has given brains to humans, which makes them unique which leads to think different, act and react different.
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.
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.
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...
In Thomas More’s Utopia, an ideal society is presented, and several of this society’s different institutions are detailed. I will compare More’s version of an ideal society with Marx’s vision of what a conflict free communist society would be. I will examine the societal system as a whole focusing on the hierarchy of Utopia, the process of production, distribution of resources, and money.
... 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)
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.
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.
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.