In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries we find the formation of the nation-state in Britain, in France and in Spain. Utopia's degree of uniformity outstrips the European counterparts. And so I will describe one of them (it doesn't much matter which one)." Indeed, all of the 54 cities have "exactly the same language, customs, institutions, and laws." Hythloday almost seems to flaunt Utopia's perfect uniformity in his opening aside: "If you know one of their cities, you know them all, so similar are they in all respects (so far as the terrain allows). The cities are planned exactly the same way, just as the houses are built of identical architecture, bland utilitarian clothing is distinguished only by the intended wearer's gender, all citizens work the same number of hours daily, each city relies upon the same legal and political practices, and all adherents worship according to the same common prayers despite their various denominations. The land is heavily urbanized with a system of cities interspaced with the agricultural hinterland. This is not the New World aesthetic in which the diversity of flora and fauna is the indicative symptom of fullness and greatness. In Utopia, perfection is expressed in uniformity. Hythloday's commentary comes about 1700 years after Utopus transformed a peninsula of savages into an island paragon of civilization. As the map of Utopia tells us visually, Utopia is not a natural paradise: it was painstakingly planned and crafted by a great commander named Utopus. The New World is often depicted as a natural paradise resembling the natural beauty of the Biblical Garden of Eden. Raphael Hythloday describes Utopia as a perfect society, but this perfection is not a natural occurrence. Privacy is a frightening notion for the Utopians: doors are constructed to give easy and immediate access to any passerby it is a serious crime to discuss any political business anywhere other than the public assembly families can be reconstituted by the state if the population distribution becomes lopsided. Individual and private activities are discouraged. Even private activities like eating, reading philosophy, and taking a vacation are inextricable parts of the communal life. Rather, the Utopians seek the prioritization of the common welfare and the fulfillment of private interests through the common welfare whenever possible. The Utopians are not opposed to the rational and intelligent improvement of one's interests. This extreme position is reflected in the Utopian fear that private property will produce more harm than good and will cause the community to unravel. At one point, we learn of the Utopians' claim that the afterlife of punishment or reward is the one thing that inspires man to obey law and respect others. The Utopian position is founded upon an inherent distrust of mankind. As modern history has revealed, communism is not the only alternative to feudalism and without a doubt, communism has not proved to be the most viable alternative to feudalism. In Utopia, there is no poverty and everyone works, quite unlike the feudal societies wherein there was much poverty and an inequitable distribution of labor. By eliminating private property, class-based social stratification, and wealth, the Utopians remove the mechanisms with which much harm is done. The Utopian argument is that pride is the great source of many crimes and injuries. Hythloday defends communism as practiced by the Utopians, noting that a similar sort of communal life was lived by the early Church and is still lived by the holiest monastic orders. On this point, the author allows his fictional equivalent (the character More) to disagree with Utopian policy and with Raphael Hythloday's interpretation of English society. The abolition of private property is one of More's chief criticisms of the Utopian state.
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