The tribute to Thomas Moore carry on this weekend. He died for his desire for a better politics, and for a more distributive power. He wanted a more inclusionary judicial and political systems, and to fight injustice. This post is a summary of three articles and an essay. The first, the essay was published at http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgiarticle=1691&context=masters_theses. The second was published at https://www.grin.com/document/387035. The third was published at
https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Thomas-Mores-Utopia-and-His-Context-FKUBH2ZTJ. The fourth was published at http://capitalismmagazine.com/2004/01/a-slave-state-society-in-sir-thomas-mores-utopia/
Utopian works have entertained generations throughout history. Much like more recent genres including science-fiction novels, utopian works stimulate the mind and cause its readers to question whether an author's design of such a place, or society, is possible in the real world. While some may perceive the purpose of utopias to be fantasy-driven, there is a great deal of scholarly literature that dedicates itself to proving otherwise. More specifically, many scholars argue that utopias are serious and ultimately aimed at re-shaping the political structure. This thesis aims to understand the more pragmatic side of utopian writing by determining the purpose of three specific utopias: Thomas Moore's Utopia (1516), James Harrington's The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656), and Johann Andrea's Christianopolis (1619). These Renaissance-period utopias are explicitly framed by their author to make drastic changes to the political culture of their time and to prescribe practical solutions to alleviate political problems that they endured. Moore evaluates humanism, as well as the political structure of the Renaissance. As a humanist, Moore finds it absurd that instead of virtue being viewed as the greatest good, wealth and pedigree always precedence over it. Moore's anger stems from the fact that noblemen were at the centerpiece of everyday life. These men, or rulers, who held power over the commoners were the ones who were revered and thought to possess virtue. However, much to Moore's chagrin, the men who were supposed to be leading virtuously were not really leading by anything, but greed and disrespect for those who were considered politically and socially beneath them. The inevitable outcome is that 'so-called gentlefolk' run the commonwealth in their own vile interests, while common labourers without whom there would be no commonwealth at all are first of all misused by their masters and are then abandoned to 'a most miserable death.' Moore defends his humanistic position arguing that it is simple impossible for hierarchically structured to be virtuous. He claims,"no hierarchical society could ever in principle be virtuous, for in maintaining 'degree' we encourage the sin of pride, and in encouraging the sin of pride we produce a society founded not on virtues but on the most hideous vice of all." Pride only ensures that citizens will be divided and treated unjustly due to the hierarchical structure in which it lays the foundation. Pride, when employed by the aristocracy, is used as a weapon against the poor. Conversely, when the poor look to the rich for leadership, but only find pride, they are led to believe that only wealth matter. The contribution of Utopia transformed the way that authors wrote about their politics. This is evident in the surge of utopian-like words that were produced during the Renaissance not long after its publication. The amount of works dedicated to disambiguating the political purposes of Moore. Quentin Skinner and George Logan look to explain it as a result of Moore's humanist beliefs that hoped for society to return to studying the classical works.
Thomas Moore's Utopia's is a precursor of the utopian literary genre that describes in detail ideal societies and perfectly arranged cities. The book is of great importance for the late medieval man. In fact, this book is one of the main cornerstones of the literary Renaissance. Moore has witnessed the flaws of the feudal system, of institutions like the church and the monarchy. His book is an attempt to draw a bright ray of hope in the medieval social paradigm. Utopia is a huge revolution in human consciousness and thought. Thousands of years of history know the injustice of the stronger to the weaker and the deprivation of the poor and the unlearned. The book is one of the most significant social and humanistic works in the history of literary thought. Over the years, the book was subject to a number of interpretations and has aroused strong controversy in the following matters: 1) The described social system is absolutely impossible to be implemented. 2) It is virtually grounded and justified the slave system. 3) It reflected an ironic and a fantasy, created for fun on the basis of which can not be made an adequate conclusion about the author's view. 4) It is justified totalitarian regime and described as ideal state system. 5) It is reflected the casuistry of modern cold war, justified is the superiority of one people over another. 6) It describes the widest democracy, defending the sovereignty of the people, in this sytem all issues are decided by the people's elected representatives, and the most important are solved by the people in the assembly of citizens.
Utopia is Thomas Moore's seminal work, depicting a fictious island and its religious, and political customs. Working as an advisor to King Henry VII, Moore was aware of the issues of his time such as ridiculous inflation, corruption, wars for little or no purpose, courtly ostention, the abuse of power, and the maltreatment of the poor. Consequently, Moore used his book to contrast some unique and refreshing political ideas with the chaotic politics of his own country. It is important to note that Thomas did not intend to provide an exact blueprint for a perfect society, rather he merely present his ideas in the form of a political satire, revealing the evils of his time. As in Plato's Republic, a work from which Moore drew while writing, he present his ideas through a dialogue between two characters, Raphael Hythloday and Moore himself. Hythlodasy is a fictional character who describes his recent voyage to the paradise of Utopia. Throughout the work, Hythloday descrives the laws, customs, systems of government, and way of life that exist in Utopia to an incredulous Moore.
Thomas Moore's Utopia lays out several important ideas that help us understand the political thought of both now and the Renaissance, as well as providing us with a look into the conditions of 16th century in Europe. The book primarily acts as a vehicle for Moore to explore several issues, ranging from the advising of Kings to the role of private property in society. It is clear that Moore is making several arguments not only about contemporary political policy, but about the nature of government and the earlier attempts of Plato and Aristotle at crafting ideal states. The Utopian government isn't a unique one as far as literature or history goes in terms of its aims. The Utopians are concerned with societal well-being and instituting policies to maintain social harmony. The whole government is constructed with these goals in mind and thus the society of Utopia is highly planned, King Utopus planned the whole city of Amaurot, and managed in order to assure that goals are achieved in a number of ways. This is apparent in the realm of economics, the Utopian government is actively involved in the process of making sure everyone is working. This is reinforced by the fact that the main function of their elected officials is to "manage matters so that no one stays around in idleness, and to make sure that everyone works hard at his or her trade." The Utopians only have to work a six hour day, but even their free time is restricted in that, "The hours of the day, when they are not working, are left to each individual discretion, provided he does not waste his free time in roistering or sloth but uses it in some occupation that pleases him." Collective harmony must be maintained through population control measures, as overpopulation will mean discomfort and under population will mean a labor shortage. " If a city has too few or too many then the extra adults are transferred to the deficient city." Why did Thomas write Utopia ? Could he have thought this was a perfect society? Perhaps not, as Moore writes at the end about those things he had found absurd. "These included their methods of waging wars, their religious practices, as well as others of their customs, but my chief objection was to the basis of their whole system, that is their communal living and their moneyless economy."
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