Utopia...Model or Reality

A detailed Summary of Utopia...Model or Reality

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 island of Utopia. Throughout the work, Hythloday describes the laws, customs, system of government, and way of life that exist on Utopia to an incredulous and somewhat condescending More.

Throughout the work, Hythloday presents a society organized to overcome the flaws of human nature. This society has been carefully thought out by More-as the author of the work-to help avoid the problems associated with human nature. Individual human appetites are controlled and balanced against the needs of the community as a whole. In other words, More attempts to describe a society in which the seven deadly sins are counterbalanced by other motivations set up by the government and society as a whole. I believe that by providing the answer to the timeless question of overcoming man's inherent evils in such a way More cr

More's Utopia presents a nice theory, but one too abstract, too Platonic, too rationalistic, and with too little understanding of real human motivations to be workable. However, it is hardly a useless or worthless work-it contains many profound psychological insights, quite a bit of humor, and many very good points. Much should be learned from his practical ideals, though More's Dream society could never work as a complete social system. It is based on ideals and not reality, unattainable ideals that only exist in our minds and on paper.

Like Plato, who wrote before him, More believes that human beings are essentially rational and will choose the greater good if it is made clear to them-that evil is a form of ignorance, at least in some cases. Like Skinner, who wrote later than him, More believes that the upbringing and circumstances of a person's life determine the way in which that person will act, at least in large part. And like Marx, who wrote after him,

More seems to think that the seven deadly sins will be fairly easy to overcome. Pride, for instance, is counterbalanced in several ways in his social system. For instance, he makes sure that all people wear the same clothing, except that the different genders wear different styles, as do married and unmarried people. More also makes individuals fairly interchangeable within the social system-one carpenter, for instance, seems to be more or less like another to him, and can find work anywhere that carpenters are needed. He also says that the Utopians encourage their citizens to think of the good of the state as a whole in addition to their individual good. Without a sense of individuality as highly developed as the one to which modern Americans are accustomed, pride should present less of a problem to the Utopians. Gluttony is another deadly sin that Hythloday claims is easily overcome. According to him, the source of gluttony is fear of a future lack of something, especially a necessity of life such as food. As Hythloday explains to More, why would he be likely to seek too much, when he knows for certain that his needs will always be met? A man is made greedy and grasping either by the fear of need (a fear common to all creatures) or else by pride (in man alone), which thinks it glorious to surpass others in superfluous show. "This kind of vice has no place at all in the ways of Utopians." (More 59) Others of the deadly sins are to be overcome, as are pride and gluttony, by encouraging the practice of

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Approximate Word count = 1672
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts