The dialogue, which takes place between More and Raphael Hythloday, could easily be mistaken for a dialogue between More and his own conscience. According to More, this world traveler would be of immeasurable assistance in any prince's court due to the vast knowledge that he has gained, just as More believed he himself would be of importance to the court of the King of England. Unfortunately for More, it is soon shown that the opposite is true. For, .
in a court made up of those who envy all .
others and admire only themselves, if a .
man should propose something that he had.
observed in his travels, the other .
councillors would fear that their whole .
reputation for wisdom was in danger, and .
that they would be regarded as plain .
fools unless they could show his .
suggestion was weak and defective. .
More attempts to defend his actions by claiming that it is better to try to work for change within a corrupt government than do nothing at all. This is what he has done by accepting a position from King Henry. Hythloday clearly refutes this attempt at rationalization in his argument with the English counselor-at-law regarding the death penalty for thievery. "While [they] strive to terrify thieves with excessive cruelty, [they] really incite them to kill innocent men." If a system does not work on face, it is not probable that internal adjustment would solve its deficiencies. Instead, it is most likely necessary that an entirely new system be put into place. Unfortunately, as More discovers, there is a stumbling block that prevents mans progress in physical ventures, and even in mental propositions: pride, especially manifested via the need for individual success. "Pride is the infernal serpent that steals into the hearts of men, thwarting and holding them back from choosing the better way of life." .
In Book II, through the narration of a journey to the land of Utopia by Hythloday, More depicts what he believes to be the perfect society created through constructs that completely eliminate pride.
