Sir Thomas More’s Pathway to Utopia

When you hear the word utopia, you may imagine a paradise on Earth, where the inhabitants experience no oppression, no war, and no social classes, which creates an invigorating and enchanting place where you would desire to live. The underlying questions remain, is there such a thing as a place, state, or condition ideally perfect in respects to the politics, laws, customs, and conditions? Or is this an impossibly ideal scheme, especially for social improvement? The man responsible for creating this paradise on earth, while leaving us perplexed with questions, is Sir Thomas More, “the father of Utopian Socialism”. In this research paper, I will address how Thomas More became the catalyst for the idea of a utopia and what his reasoning were for writing the world famous book Utopia.

To understand Thomas More, you must first understand what life was like during the period known as the Renaissance. During the sixteenth century, the Renaissance period was marked by the revival of classical arts and literature, and the coming of existence of technologies and geographical explorations. However, the government was still seen as corrupt by many people living in England, including More. England

The book was thought of as a stimulus to political thought with influences of Plato's The Republic, Marx’s socialist ideas, and strong Christian ethics as well. Many scholars throughout history have compared More to Plato, stating that both men relayed their message in quit the same manner—through a literary dialog in which both were beautifully written. More’s Utopia and Plato’s Republic are among the best-known examples of these blueprints of perfection[Constable,1990: 16]. More was said to have been greatly inclined by Plato’s works and ideas. The underlying difference, however, is that Plato influenced perfection of the soul, while More sought out perfection of the state through economic means. Plato put much of his emphasis on knowledge and wisdom. He believed that ignorant and selfish politicians had ruined Greece. More emphasized equality and enjoyment for all. More wanted to rid the world of agriculture, which he felt had ruined society.

Utopians are free to believe in any religion they desire, just as long as they believe in a Supreme Being and are in constant pursuit of spiritual fulfillment. The "first principal" of their beliefs is that "every soul is immortal and was created by a kind God."[More 91] Their second belief is that "we all shall be punished and rewarded in the next world for our good or bad behavior in this one."[More: 91]

In result to all of this, can an ideal and perfect society possibly exist? While some believed that More thought such a place could exist, the truth is, More knew that it couldn’t. Utopia does not attempt a final solution for the problems of human society—More was far too wise to attempt the impossible. Utopia was a literary attack on the 16th century class society and the corrupt ways in which the government and the King ruled England. More was wise and knew that perfection could not take place in a society due to the fact that humans themselves are not perfect and would spoil such a paradise. However, More was aware that England was the exact opposite of perfection and needed improvement in all aspects of life. All the laws and rules of Utopia critiqued and criticized England in every way imaginable. More wanted to provoke the idea in people that if the Utopians could live peacefully and happily, then why couldn’t England?

was thought to have social inequalities, where the commoners held little or no rights at all. For example, Commoners were forced to work long and strenuous days just to survive, which resulted with them owning very little. The kings of England possessed the most power and believed that they had the divin

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