Utopia
In response to contemporary social, economical, and political circumstances of England in the early sixteenth century, Thomas More developed characteristics of an ideal society and presented them in his book Utopia. England during the 1500s was mostly rural and underdeveloped. The practice of converting arable land into pastures resulted in massive unemployment, forcing many to resort to theft and other unlawful measures. The average king was often corrupt, having dishonest methods of raising money and starting unnecessary aggressive wars. More’s “negative attack on European wickedness” suggests several alternative solutions to England’s severe social and political problems (More II). As a civic humanist it is one’s duty to serve the city and government in any way possible. More’s beliefs as a civic humanist are presented in Book I. According to More a wise and moral man should give advice to the king, but carefully and indirectly. Raphael Hythlodaeus, however, disagrees with More stating that “there’s no room at Court for philosophy” (More 63). Raphael’s beliefs portray monasticism, the tradition that men should be contempt with life and live passive lives.
moral decline, More attempts to remove any possible temptation from the Utopian citizen, thus creating less conflict. The people of Utopia strive for pleasure, which serves as a fourth and final chief principle. They work as little as possible and spend the rest of their time expanding their minds and maintaining their health. Unlike England where pleasures are restricted to the wealthy, everyone in Utopia is allowed to experience pleasure. In Utopia, Thomas More creates an ideal society in which greed and pride, two emotions that can result in major conflicts, are absent. He presents an environment that escapes the social, economical, and political struggles of sixteenth century England. His ideas as a civic humanist shape the country of Utopia, where its citizens elect its own officials and lead active lives. The components of More’s Utopia have been applied to many governments, shaping and developing their political, social, and economical structures. Because of the English class system- the wealthy and the peasantry- and the incapability of creating a comfortable existence for everyone, Raphael suggests that some people are compelled to steal. In the 1500s many peasant farmers were driven from their land because wealthy landowners were turning cultivated land into pastures in order to raise more sheep, which in re
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Approximate Word count = 902
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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