The Political Structure of More’s Utopia Essay - 2634 Words

Over the past few centuries the word utopia has developed a variety of meanings: a perfect state, paradise, heaven on earth, but the original definition of the word means something quite different. Utopia, coined by Saint Thomas More in his famous work Utopia, written during the English Renaissance, literally means nowhere. It is ironic that a word meaning nowhere has become a catchall phrase for paradise. More’s work is popular because of its wit, its use of metaphor, and its proposals for the perfect state. The work is claimed by Nicholas Paine Gilman in Socialism and the American Spirit to be: a masterpiece of wit, written by a man who knew the world, and sent forth this book, inspired by Colet and Erasmus, not as a sure†¦show more content†¦Our age and our posterity will regard this exposition as a source of excellent doctrines and useful ordinances, from which states will construct their institutions† (Kautsky 14). After reading Utopia, these men were ready to go out and change the world, but did More really want to see his work become a reality or did he plan his work as a social commentary? There will never be an answer to this question, but many of the ideas and comments made about Utopia suggest that More believed in many of the ideas. However, he qualifies his full endorsement of the Utopian ideal at the end of the end of story, he writes, â€Å"I cannot agree with all that he said. But I readily admit that there are very many features in the Utopian commonwealth which it is easier for me to wish for in our countries than to have any hope of seeing realized† (More 152). While he may not agree with everything Hythlodaeus s ays, he also wrote Utopia in Latin which allowed for a very small circle of readers and allowed for a wider range of expression. By conditioning his reaction to Utopia’s innovations and by writing Utopia in Latin, More conceals his true beliefs â€Å"in the garment of satire, which to be sure permitted him greater freedom in the expression of his opinions† (Kautsky 13-14). More’s Utopia is meant to be used as a form of entertainment onShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Utopia By Thomas More1710 Words   |  7 Pages Utopia- good place, or in other words, no place. Thomas More, in his work Utopia, describes a nation in a parallel universe free from greed, pride, immorality, poverty, and crime; told as a narrative of a well-traveled explorer Hythloday to Moore himself, Hythloday speaks of a nation founded purely upon rationality, efficiency, and perfect morality. Thomas More’s work is no political or social theory, but rather a social critique and a commentary. 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Mores society, viewed through the character Hythloday, is seemingly based on mans nature in society being generally good, and the faults of man emanate from how society itself is set up. Hobbes takes the opposite view of human nature, where mans will to survive makes him unable to act out of goodness and it is man who is responsible for societys ills. Both Leviathan and Utopia contain faults in logic that work to undermine the very possibility for these new social structures. In the