SOURCE: "Utopia: The Case for Open-Mindedness in the Commonwealth," in Moreana, No. 31-32, November, 1971, pp. 91-105.

In the following essay, Khanna contends that More recommends open-mindedness in his text, exemplifying it both in the Utopians and in the dialogue between the characters of Hythloday, More, and Peter Giles.

The Utopia has been read as an economic, social or political treatise, hailed as a precursor of communism, and praised for its illustration of medieval and monastic virtues. Some critics have analyzed its philosophic precepts, while others have seen it as a light-hearted jeu d'esprit. More's major work has fascinated and puzzled readers for generations.

The continuous popular appeal of the work may itself indicate, however, a more fundamental and universal meaning than that attributed to it by most critics. I believe that the dramatic emphasis of Utopia does not depend upon any philosophical or political system. Rather the two...