Sir Thomas More finished writing Utopia in 1516, nearly 500 years ago. The word utopia derives its origin from this work. A utopia is an ideal society, and this is what More attempts to describe: an imagined perfect society. This is another short but pithy read that I would highly recommend. Be warned: it's a depressing return trip from Utopia back to today's society. Here's some of my favorite parts:
"For instance, the Utopians fail to understand why anyone should be so fascinated by the dull gleam of a tiny bit of stone, when he has all the stars in the sky to look at - or how anyone can be silly enough to think himself better than other people, because his clothes are made of finer woollen thread than theirs. After all, those fine clothes were once worn by a sheep, and they never turned it into anything better than a sheep."
"But what puzzles and disgusts the Utopians even more is the idiotic way some people have of practically worshipping a rich man, not because they owe him money or are otherwise in his power, but simply because he's rich - although they know perfectly well that he's far too mean to let a single penny come their way, so long as he's alive to stop it."
"And now, what about those people who accumulate superfluous wealth, for no better purpose than to enjoy looking at it? Is their pleasure a real one, or merely a form of delusion?"
"What, they ask, is the good of a treaty? Aren't all human beings natural allies already? And if a person's prepared to ignore a fundamental bond like that, is he likely to pay much attention to a mere form of words?"
"For, according to the Utopians, it's quite unjust for anyone to be bound by a legal code which is too long for an ordinary person to read right through, or too difficult for him to understand."
"They think no one should be regarded as an enemy who hasn't done you any harm. Human nature constitutes a treaty in itself, and human beings are far more effectively united by kindness than by contracts, by feelings than by words."
"Finally, let me tell you about their religious ideas. There are several different religions on the island, and indeed in each town. . .However, the vast majority take the much more sensible view that there is a single divine power, unknown, eternal, infinite, inexplicable, and quite beyond the grasp of the human mind, diffused throughout this universe of ours, not as a physical substance, but as an active force."
"Nobody owns anything, but everyone is rich - for what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind, and freedom from anxiety?"
"In fact, when I consider any social system that prevails in the modern world, I can't, so help me God, see it as anything but a conspiracy of the rich to advance their own interests under the pretext of organizing society. They think up all sorts of tricks and dodges, first for keeping safe their ill-gotten gains, and then for exploiting the poor by buying their labour as cheaply as possible."
Wow!! Sound familiar? 500 years ago was not that long ago really.
Sorry for any typos. Oh yeah, and The Shins mention Sir Thomas More on the song "So Says I" on the Chutes Too Narrow album. Here's the line:
"Cause this is nothing like we'd ever dreamt/Tell Sir Thomas More we got another failed attempt/Cause if it makes them money they might just give you life this time"
It's a good song, Utopia is a great piece of writing, check 'em out. . .The two of you who might read this.
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4 comments:
I'm hoping to be able to keep up with this pace once I'm done here in a few days. I'm looking forward to this one.
You're good at reading.
ha.
have you listened to those Shins' albums?
I had to read this for my last masters class, and to be honest, Utopia made me a little uneasy. I think it was natural to look at Europe at that time and see the religious wars, the corruption, and the insanity in every day decisions made by their monarchs/leaders, and in response, More wrote Utopia. Granted, I daydream about living in a perfect society in which in which we all work a little during the day, then come back to our perfect house, play with our dogs and barbecue with a few cases of guiness. No crime, no violence, and 12 hours a day to read and play sports. And while More comes up with some good points, I think one needs to be very careful when trying to make parallels to contemporary society. For instance, he talks about religious toleration... except for atheists, because atheists wouldn't "accept authority". And he goes on to throw in how the priests have unlimited power, and determine morality for the masses. I have some issues with that on so many levels, but perhaps for another time.
Another thing that concerns me is the socialist aspect in the work. For instance, all Utopians work their 6 hour days, and are expected to keep other pursuits outside of their daily manual labor. Yet there are laws built in to severely punish laziness, and I have deep reservations about who is enforcing these laws, and how one can determine what "laziness" is. In addition, there is no reward for those who work harder, which in my opinion pushes people to work just hard enough to not get punished, kind of like the old analogy of "Why wash this rental car?." The constant references to slavery in the book are ironic, because when people have no tangible goals, they too are slaves.
I got a few other things, but I wont go all night. I think this is an amazing work for the time, and More really got the discussion going about some of these ideas. And I do understand why he wrote it, seeing the kings go to war over petty differences, etc.. However, I still think that this Utopian society is just another way of taking away personal liberty and denying checks and balances. His constant advocation of strict hierarchy, submission to authority and limiting of freedom in the name of peace and harmony has steep consequences. I think these Utopians are slaves in their own right, and while I would love to live in this society if I could run it with just a few friends, I would be wary of giving up my freedom for guaranteed stability. Plus, its a little ironic that Thomas More is writing this. As Lord Chancelor he executed hundreds of protestants, subdued dissent and continued the violent European tradition, while in a strange twist of fate he was beheaded for not submitting his authority to Henry VIII.
ohhhh...and despite the length differences (150 to 1200), Atlas Shrugged is the other perspective of Utopia (in an economic sense). I think it has many of the same limitations as both a book and a philosophy, but I would definitely have to say that if you read one, you are pretty much obligated to read the other. Plus, if you finish all 1200 pages you can consider yourself to be among the highest level of book worms...
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