Student Essay on Utopia by Thomas Moore

Utopia by Thomas Moore

Summary:   Thomas Moore's Utopia puts forward many notions in Utopia, such as the Utopians belief in religious tolerance, the sharing of power and the evil of private property that contrasts enormously with the contemporaries of 16th century England.

The Utopia that More creates in his famous satire is his mirror, as well as the mirror of his society. More puts forward many notions in Utopia, such as the Utopians belief in religious tolerance, the sharing of power and the evil of private property that contrasts enormously with the contemporaries of 16th century England. Mores Utopia is a response to a specific historical time, which reflects on the many social, political and religious injustices of early 16th century England through means of satirical critique and contrast.

The most radical proposal in More's Utopia is the abolishment of private property. The Utopian way of life can be described in one word, that is, homogeneity. "There are fifty-four splendid big towns on the island, all with the same language, laws, customs, and institutions." Hythloday, the main narrator in Utopia describes all fifty-four cities by describing one, that is, Aircastle, because as he says "When you've seen one of them, you've seen them all, for they're as nearly identical as local conditions will permit." This same theory applies with the houses in Utopia. "Each house has a front door leading into the street, and a back door into the garden." The houses are so identical and considered as a public place by all the Utopians that "the houses themselves are allocated by lot, and changed around every ten years." The way the Utopians treat the land they live on also reflects the communal state of the country. Each town in Utopia has land that stretches for at least 20 miles in every direction. "No town has the slightest wish to extend its boundaries, for they don't regard their land as property but as soil that they've got to cultivate." The Utopians farming of the land is done in such a way that it is fair on everybody. "At regular intervals all over the countryside there are houses supplied with agricultural equipment, and town dwellers take it inturns to go and live in them." "Two years is the normal period of work on the land, so that no one's forced to rough it for too long, but those who enjoy country life - and many people do - can get special permission to stay there longer." When the time of harvest comes, the magistrates in the country lets the towns know how many hands they will need for reaping the harvest and the number they call for gets sent to them. Because of the efficiency of the communal method of agricultural work that the Utopians adopt it leaves no man to have to worry about food or impoverishment for themselves or any of their descendants. The authorities of each town always make sure they have enough food for their own town and also plenty to spare for their neighbours. "You simply ask an official for what you want, and he hands it over, without any sort of payment." The Utopia that More creates shows his view of how the world could be, that is free of the evils of private property.

More's Utopia also reflects how the world was during 16th century England. The homogeneity present in Utopia satirically reflects the injustices occurring in England at the time, where men who did nothing productive lived in luxury, leaving the vast majority of the population to impoverishment and hard labour. Utopia strongly reflects England to be a state that controlled itself from within the hierarchy, and whose aim was not the welfare of its citizens, but perpetual power. The communal method of agricultural work in Utopia was a revolutionary idea for its time because it is clearly quite the opposite as to what was occurring in Britain concerning the enclosure movement. By introducing the idea of communal agricultural work, More subversively attacked the enclosure movement in Britain which transformed the wool and agricultural market into an oligopoly that simultaneously drove up prices and deprived small landholders of their livelihood. Through More's eradication of private property in Utopia he subversively attacked the few rich nobles and churches that had almost complete control over most of the nation's wealth.

Utopia's reflection of the situation in England at the time is achieved through humorous satire. More's description of the houses in Utopia is so far-fetched that it is humorous. "Each house has a front door leading into the street, and a back door into the garden. In both cases they're double swing doors, which open at a touch, and close automatically behind you. So anyone can go in and out - for there's no such thing as private property." In his description of the house's in Utopia More is satirically criticising the private property in England, which only allows for a few rich noblemen to lead a wealthy and prosperous life, leaving the majority to impoverishment and hard labour.

One of the tenets of More's Utopia is religious toleration. There are several different religions in Utopia, but they all agree on one thing, which is "that there is one Supreme Being, Who is responsible for the creation and management of the universe." To sustain peace among the Utopians, Utopus made a law which states "Everyone was free to practise what religion he liked, and try to convert other people to his own faith, provided he did it quietly and politely, by rational argument. But, if he failed to convince them, he was not allowed to make bitter attacks on other religions, nor to employ violence or personal abuse." So, from this law the choice of creed was left open for the Utopians, under the condition that they do not follow the path of atheism. "He strictly and solemnly forbade his people to believe anything so incompatible with human dignity as the doctrine that the soul dies with the body, and the universe functions aimlessly, without any controlling providence." Atheism was seen as immoral. "Anyone that thinks differently (believes there is no afterlife) has, in their view, forfeited his right to be classed as a human being, by degrading his immortal soul to the level of an animal's body. Still less do they regard him as a Utopian citizen." According to the Utopians, if someone believes that there is no afterlife, then that person will act selfishly in search of immediate physical and mental pleasure and not act virtuously in hope of future reward. The practice of religious toleration in Utopia is More's view of how the world could have been, that is, free of the upheavals and persecutions that were connected with the church in his time.

Religious toleration in Utopia contrasts with More's society which was characterised by intolerance and persecution of doctrinal difference, More being a persecutor of Protestants himself. It is paradoxical that More preached religious toleration in Utopia and yet methodically persecuted Protestants, and decided to remain a lay Christian rather than enter the priesthood, but ultimately died a martyr for his faith. It was known by all that different interpretations of the bible were banned if they didn't support the dominant church. There was heresy everywhere in England. Overall, Utopia is subversive in regards to religion. It attacks a society driven by narrow doctrinal passions.

Utopia's reflection of the situation occurring in England regarding religion is achieved through means of humours satire. The demand in Utopian religion that "wives kneels down before their husbands" and "confess all their sins of omission and commission, and ask to be forgiven," while the husband must do nothing but forgive demonstrates an assumption of superiority in the men and thus satirically reflects the religious situation in England which was driven by narrow doctrinal passions.

The political situation in Utopia is that of a democracy. Its people are represented by two layers of elected public officials, the higher level selected by the lower level. "The population is divided into groups of thirty households, each of which elects an official called a Styward every year. For every ten Stywards and the households they represent there is a Bencheater. Each town has two hundred Stywards, who are responsible for electing the Major." In the interests of the general public "the Major remains in office for life, unless he's suspected of wanting to establish a dictatorship." To discourage the Major and Bencheaters from plotting to override the public's wishes it is stated that it is a "capital crime to discuss any such questions (matters affecting the general public) anywhere except in the Council or Assembly." The political situation in Utopia can be repressive at times, i.e., in not allowing any matters to be discussed regarding the general public outside the Council or Assembly, but overall the rule of government in Utopia is very strict, but effective on maintaining the wishes of the general public. The democracy created in Utopia is More's version of how the world could be, contrasting enormously with the political situation in England at the time.

Through contrast Utopia attacks the political structure of England, which was governed via a dictatorship. More lived through a time in which Europe and England were still founded on the economic models of feudalism, in which virtually all power resided with rich nobles while the peasants endured a backbreaking existence that supported the lavish lifestyles of their rulers, but provided little more than a subsistence level of existence for themselves. The repression regarding the political situation in Utopia also contrasts with England. In Utopia all citizens were equally repressed from discussing matters affecting the general public freely, while in England the poor and weak were repressed by the rich and powerful. In England, the position of the Major is opposite to that of Utopia, that is, he is separate from his people. He was a dictator, controlling his nation through his greed of wanting to become a "wealthy nation", rather than serving in the best-wishes of the general public. Through contrast, Utopia subversively attacks the political structure of England.

Utopia's reflection of the situation occurring in England regarding England's political structure is achieved mainly through means of contrast and intellectual reasoning. For example, in Utopia "The Major remains in office for life, unless he's suspected of wanting to establish a dictatorship." This contrasts enormously with the government in England which is actually governed purely through a dictatorship. The rule in Utopia which says, "all discussion is postponed until the next well-attended meeting," is of an intellectual state by the way More justifies his theory. "Otherwise someone's liable to say the first thing that comes into his head, and then start thinking up arguments to justify what he has said, instead of trying to decide what's best for the community." In reality, this statement is true and was also most likely the reason as to why England's government developed into such a dictatorship.

More's Utopia is based on egalitarian principles, which extends to issues of gender. Utopia holds an implicit disregard for women and at the same time offers them the chance at equality. Some constraints are placed on women, such as they are not allowed to engage in heavy labour since in general they are not as strong as men. Political power in Utopia is patriarchal. The head of Utopia is male and the Stywards and Bencheaters are also all assumed to be male. Although women are allowed to become priests, "only elderly widows are eligible." Religion is the main aspect of Utopian life where women are inferior. Utopian religion demands that women must prostrate themselves before their husbands and admit their failings, while their husbands must do nothing but forgive. This demonstrates an assumption of superiority in the men and leaves the women as religiously inferior. In the family life, "When a girl grows up and gets married, she joins her husband's household, but the boys of each generation stay at home, under the control of their oldest male relative." This again demonstrates superiority in the male gender in Utopia. Although there are constraints placed on women, there are also areas of life in Utopia where equality between the sexes is evident. "There's one job they all do, irrespective of sex, and that's farming." Also wives are allowed to accompany their husbands to war, fighting with them side by side. More's Utopia depicts a world where women are given more rights and power than in any existence, but at the same time he cannot escape the dominant philosophy in society at the time that men are the dominant sex.

The values and attitudes regarding gender roles in Utopia affirm the dominant view of More's society that women were the weaker sex. It reflects that even in a perfect world, More could not escape the situation in the 16th century under which women were subservient to first their father, then their husband. By More choosing to adopt the view that women were inferior in Utopia also reflects his own religious devotion through supporting the biblical view of women. Overall, Utopia is not subversive in its attitudes towards gender, it affirms the patriarchal values present in More's context.

Utopia's affirmation of the patriarchal values present in 16th century England is achieved by means of ordinary conversation and satire. The rhythm of ordinary conversation that More adopts is helpful with establishing a common level of understanding between the reader and the text. "When a girl grows up and gets married, she joins her husband's household." Being simple and of common language the reader is able to connect with what is being said and see the truth of the statement. The reader is made able to understand the situation at a more personal level. The way in which More depicts the inferiority of women in Utopia satirically reflects the position of women in his own context. "Wives kneel down before their husbands, to confess all their sins of omission and commission, and ask to be forgiven." The demand that women must prostrate themselves before their husbands to confess their wrongdoings satirically reflects the inferiority of women in More's own time.

More created the family structures in Utopia free of class, status and privilege. Family structures in Utopia are very controlled and interchangeable. "The smallest social unit is the household, which is virtually synonymous with the family." "There's a law that no household shall contain less than ten or more than sixteen adults." If there is an over-populated household then the extra adults simply get moved to smaller households. Simarlily, if a town is too full "the surplus population is transferred to a town that's comparatively empty." All households in Utopia are so identical that any individual can move into another household and feel as welcome as they would at their former household. The Utopian's choice of choosing their vocation is left open to the individual, although "most children are brought up to do the same work as their parents, since they tend to have a natural feeling for it. But if a child fancies some other trade, he's adopted into a family that practises it." Children in Utopia are bred for a purpose, which is to contribute to a more diversified workforce to sustain the economy. Utopians are allowed to practice more than one trade and they can practise whichever they prefer, "unless the other is more essential to the public." The Utopians work a 6-hour shift everyday and during their free time they are allowed to do what they like, but they are not allowed to "waste their time in idleness or self-indulgence, but to make good use of it in some congenial activity." The way family structures are created in Utopia reflect More's vision of how a perfect world could be, contrasting enormously to his own class-conscious society.

The family structures in Utopia contrasts' significantly with the class-conscious society of More's own time, in which society was dominated by the rich and exploitative of the poor. Utopia's rule that free time being spent in idleness is banned strongly contrasts with the unproductiveness of a vast number of the European population. These people include most of the women, much of the clergy, the rich gentlemen and nobles and all of their retainers, and all of the beggars. The Utopians choice of vocation strikes as being incredibly small, but when compared with the choices the European lower classes have, it is incredible large. Peasants in 16th century England had absolutely no mobility in terms of choosing their job, if they were born to agricultural parents'; they had no choice but to work the land as well. In regards to family structures Utopia is subversive. It attacks a society that is overwhelmed by class, status and privilege.

Utopia's reflection of the injustices between the rich and the poor during 16th century England is achieved mainly by means of contrast and satire. "Most children are brought up to do the same work as their parents, since they tend to have a natural feeling for it. But if a child fancies some other trade, he's adopted into a family that practises it." The fact that in Utopia children are free to practise whatever trade they desire contrasts enormously with the situation in England where status, privilege and one's choice of vocation is a matter of birthright. The fact that one can move between households so freely in Utopia, and still feel "equally at home" and "be welcomed with open arms" satirically reflects the clear class distinctions that are made in England between the rich and poor.

More's clever use of satire allowed him to create his vision of a perfect world, which satirically reflected and contrasted with his own society. In Utopia More creates a world based on egalitarian principles. It focuses on a world free from the social, political and religious inequalities normally associated with early 16th century England. In Utopia the homogeneity of their lifestyle, their practice of religious toleration and the way their family structures are set out all satirically reflect a society that was dominated by the rich and exploitative of the poor. The political structure and gender distinctions in Utopia contrast with More's own society, which again reflect a class-conscious England. Overall More's Utopia depicts a perfect world, drawn from the inequalities experienced by More in his own society, mainly through means of satirical critique.