Utopia and Il Muqaddimah both show the importance of families and social groups in the civilization they live in. Utopian families all have an equal role in the cities they live in; they are a microcosm of their city and its objective to survive; however, in Il Muqaddimah the subjects have the responsibility to help the ruler prosper. Utopians work and in return share what they earn, while subjects work for their survival. Utopians all have an equal work load and subjects hardships depend on their social status both situations lead to prosperity.
Utopians work for the commonwealth and in result no one worries about hunger or payment, “products of each household are taken to designated houses there and each kind of goods is separately stored in a warehouse. From then each head of household goes to get whatever he and his household need” (More 1713). This system allows Utopians to prosper because if one household does not do well that year and another does well, this results in a balanced scale, this system is seen in America today also known as government assistance. Subjects on the other hand have to work and pay taxes to their ruler, this results in his prosperity and the different groups based on their income, “People, thus, cannot persist in a state of anarchy and without a ruler who keeps them apart” (Khaldun 1732). Utopians have multiple rulers who keep the peace and expect no pay while subjects have a single ruler who relies on his subjects to prosper.
In Utopia the citizens rely on each other because although thy all have the same work load they do not all grow corn well, some may grow carrots better than others. This benefits everyone because they can do what they do best, “many who have a natural bent for agricultural ...
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... an entire community can fall apart, by doing his job the ruler ensures his success, “this can be improved only through the equitable treatment of people with property and regard for them, so that their hopes rise, and they have the incentive to start making their capitol bear fruit and grow. This, in turn, increases the ruler’s revenues in taxes” (Khaldun 1734). A ruler must know that subjects have an important role and he does as well; however, he must never confuse this role because it leads to his downfall as well as those who look up to him.
Works Cited
More. “Utopia.” Ed. Paul Davis. Gary Harrison. David M. Johnson. John F. Crawford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Page Range:1706-1725. Print.
Ibn Khaldun. “Il Muqaddimah.” Ed. Paul Davis. Gary Harrison. David M. Johnson. John F. Crawford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Page Range:1732-1739. Print.
In Utopia, hubris is believed to the root of everything wrong in the world. In both book 1 and 2, More tells how hubris ruins everything and causes people to become greedy and uncaring towards others. Hythloday believes that people in Utopia are happier because they do not worry about food and are concerned about the public. While people of other places are full of greed and are too prideful to help another person in need.
it should be learnt that the search for „utopia‟ is a contemplative one, and can never be
Cobb, Paul. "Introduction." Ibn Munqidh, Usama. Book of Contemplation Islam and the Crusades. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. xv-xlii.
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 Utopian political structure, which is democratic in nature, is drastic compared to European governmenta...
There are many elements that are required to maintain a utopian society such as equal chores of an everyday household. There are responsibilities of every resident from cooking food to keeping the house clean. These chores have to be just otherwise the purpose of the utopian society is corrupted. All residents have the same right as any other member of the society yet there are some rules that are to be followed to help maintain the community. This is when a form of self-government comes into action.
...e ruler only holds power as long as his subjects obey his punishment commands. The sovereign does not determine the question of obedience to his commands, because that is ultimately a question the subjects determine for themselves, based on their assessment of their best interests and welfare. It therefore follows that the people as subjects, in due course, establish the very existence of the sovereign, which is dependent on obedience to his commands.
More, Sir Thomas. Utopia. 1516. . Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2000, 1: 1765-1771.
Utopia is an imaginary state, which consists of people who believe they are more capable to live in a group than alone. In such a community, the welfare of the group is the primary interest comparing to the comfort of individuals. The purpose of this society is to allow people to live in equality and freedom. Their social and economical status would be the same. An example of such a society was established in 1848, by John Humphrey Noyes. It soon dissolved at 1880 because of the oppositions aroused among the people about the system of "complex marriage". This system is different from the one in The Giver, whereby all adults in the community were considered married to one another.
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.
Inglis, John. “Islamic Medieval Philosophy.” ASI 111. Sears Recital Hall, University of Dayton. 15 October 2002.
Sir Thomas More composed the book Utopia in the year 1516. Utopia looks into many of the problems that faced England in the sixteenth-century and what a society would look like in order to relieve those complications. The Utopian society is brought about through conversations between the characters Thomas More, his friend Peter Giles, and the traveling philosopher Raphael Hythloday. Giles and More are quickly impressed by the level of travel that Hythloday had experienced; they want to know what he has seen and heard from other regions in regards to government and civilization. In More’s Utopia, we will uncover some of the problems that England was facing at the time and see where the Utopian commonwealth would do to alleviate said problems,
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.
The Utopians live a very simple lifestyle. They work, and in their spare time play games, read, and socialize. Other forms of entertainment, such as gambling and hunting are looked down upon. They only eat what is necessary, and their houses are built simply and furnished only with what is necessary. Thus, their consumption is very low. Utopians do not need material possessions for happiness. Happiness for them comes out of living an honest life and working hard to produce for themselves and for the entire nation.
Peoples’ views of what the perfect society would look like have changed because of a few cultures in history. This “perfect society”, also called a utopia, can be found within many different religions, mythologies, cultures, and more. These change us to think differently about what we would call perfect. For example, everyone works together, everyone for themselves, isolation from the rest of the world, and so on. A few generalizations have been made about utopias. “Man strives to create his own personal and societal utopia.” “Man has been searching for or trying to create a utopian society since time began.” “Man corrupts his utopia after finding it or creating it.” “Dreams, memories, nature, emotions, and time help shape man’s ideas regarding utopia.” “Individuality may be lost I man’s quest for utopia.” These apply to most, if not all utopian situations throughout fictional societies and history.