Spoiler Alert: The Ideal Society Isn't Actually Ideal
Is
an ideal society actually ideal? Or does this society present as many problems
as it supposedly fixes? In Utopia, Thomas
More explores the concept of an ideal society when he meets a world traveler
named Raphael Nonsenso. At More’s encouragement, Raphael recounts his time on an
island he visited that has “wise social planning” and has perhaps become the
“most civilized nation in the world” (More 19, 50). This island, called Utopia,
pursues the public welfare, assuring that “there’s plenty of everything” which
can be divided among the population (More 65). Since everything is shared, poor
people and beggars are eliminated, and no one tries to take advantage of
another because of his own self-interest. Although the Utopian government
combats both pridefulness and selfishness through sharing, control, and
equality, they take away much of their citizens’ free-will and creative
expression in the process.
In Utopian society, everything is “under state control” and free-will is largely absent (More 58). Additionally, land, housing, and food are always shared, and privacy is nonexistent. The citizens in Utopia are not allowed to own property or houses, and every ten years, the houses in which they live are reassigned to different residents. Moving regularly discourages attachment to material items. If a Utopian grows attached to his material possessions, he could easily become selfish, then, instead of focusing on the well-being of society, he only looks out for himself. Since “there is no such thing as private property” in this society, houses do not even have locks on the doors (More 53). Instead, it is open to everyone, diminishing one’s pride and possessiveness about his living space since everyone can freely enter. Another example of the Utopians’ strict living conditions presents itself in travel. If one wishes to visit a friend in another town, he must obtain permission by “applying to [his] Styward and Bencheater” (More 64). He is given a passport with his mandatory return date as well as a list of rules pertaining to his travel and work. The state is strict about traveling because “wherever [a Utopian] is, [he] always has to work” (More 65). Everyone is expected to complete the same amount of work, and traveling can interfere with one’s duties. Similar to his incredibly structured and controlled living arrangements, a Utopian’s work life is also meticulously planned out by the state. Both men and women are required to learn about farming, with children “learning the principles of agriculture at school” from a young age (More 55). In addition to farming, everyone is taught a trade that benefits the community, and they are never permitted to “sit around doing nothing, but…get on with his job” (More 56). Each person’s work day is organized for him as he is required to work three hours in the morning followed by three hours in the afternoon (More 56). The time frame for sleeping is also carefully planned out where he must go to bed at 8 p.m. and sleep for exactly eight hours. The Utopians are granted free time, but even this time has regulations. Though they can choose how they spend their free time, they cannot “waste it on idleness or self-indulgence” (More 56). Instead, they are encouraged to be productive through activities such as furthering their education or working on their trade. Because each citizen works the same amount of time and shares his possessions with the rest of society, one cannot take advantage of another. Unfortunately, though, a Utopian is rarely able to exercise his free will since the state decides most every aspect of his life.
The state’s idea that everyone should be equal also presents itself through uniformity. Equality removes the “notion that [one] is better than people because [he] can display more superfluous property than they can” (More 61). Yet as a result, creativity and expressing oneself is challenging. For example, everyone in Utopia wears the “same sort of clothes,” and the fashion never changes (More 55). Clothes are only made out of linen and wool, and each Utopian is “content with a single piece of clothing every two years” (More 59). Furthermore, a Utopian’s environment is identical to his neighbor’s. Each of the fifty-four towns have the same language, laws, customs, and institutions which are “built on the same plan…and all look exactly alike” (More 50). The conversations that occur in these Utopian towns all follow a similar structure. At meals, the older people are supposed to converse about important problems first, but “not in a humorless or depressing way, nor [should] they monopolize the conversation” (More 63). They then look to engage in a discussion with the younger crowd so they can “gauge each person’s character and intelligence” (More 64). Because everyone wears the same clothes, lives in an identical town, and follows a similar conversation script, there are no feelings of superiority, jealousy, or greediness. Yet, creativity is stifled, and they are not allowed to be different from society.
In Utopian society, everything is “under state control” and free-will is largely absent (More 58). Additionally, land, housing, and food are always shared, and privacy is nonexistent. The citizens in Utopia are not allowed to own property or houses, and every ten years, the houses in which they live are reassigned to different residents. Moving regularly discourages attachment to material items. If a Utopian grows attached to his material possessions, he could easily become selfish, then, instead of focusing on the well-being of society, he only looks out for himself. Since “there is no such thing as private property” in this society, houses do not even have locks on the doors (More 53). Instead, it is open to everyone, diminishing one’s pride and possessiveness about his living space since everyone can freely enter. Another example of the Utopians’ strict living conditions presents itself in travel. If one wishes to visit a friend in another town, he must obtain permission by “applying to [his] Styward and Bencheater” (More 64). He is given a passport with his mandatory return date as well as a list of rules pertaining to his travel and work. The state is strict about traveling because “wherever [a Utopian] is, [he] always has to work” (More 65). Everyone is expected to complete the same amount of work, and traveling can interfere with one’s duties. Similar to his incredibly structured and controlled living arrangements, a Utopian’s work life is also meticulously planned out by the state. Both men and women are required to learn about farming, with children “learning the principles of agriculture at school” from a young age (More 55). In addition to farming, everyone is taught a trade that benefits the community, and they are never permitted to “sit around doing nothing, but…get on with his job” (More 56). Each person’s work day is organized for him as he is required to work three hours in the morning followed by three hours in the afternoon (More 56). The time frame for sleeping is also carefully planned out where he must go to bed at 8 p.m. and sleep for exactly eight hours. The Utopians are granted free time, but even this time has regulations. Though they can choose how they spend their free time, they cannot “waste it on idleness or self-indulgence” (More 56). Instead, they are encouraged to be productive through activities such as furthering their education or working on their trade. Because each citizen works the same amount of time and shares his possessions with the rest of society, one cannot take advantage of another. Unfortunately, though, a Utopian is rarely able to exercise his free will since the state decides most every aspect of his life.
The state’s idea that everyone should be equal also presents itself through uniformity. Equality removes the “notion that [one] is better than people because [he] can display more superfluous property than they can” (More 61). Yet as a result, creativity and expressing oneself is challenging. For example, everyone in Utopia wears the “same sort of clothes,” and the fashion never changes (More 55). Clothes are only made out of linen and wool, and each Utopian is “content with a single piece of clothing every two years” (More 59). Furthermore, a Utopian’s environment is identical to his neighbor’s. Each of the fifty-four towns have the same language, laws, customs, and institutions which are “built on the same plan…and all look exactly alike” (More 50). The conversations that occur in these Utopian towns all follow a similar structure. At meals, the older people are supposed to converse about important problems first, but “not in a humorless or depressing way, nor [should] they monopolize the conversation” (More 63). They then look to engage in a discussion with the younger crowd so they can “gauge each person’s character and intelligence” (More 64). Because everyone wears the same clothes, lives in an identical town, and follows a similar conversation script, there are no feelings of superiority, jealousy, or greediness. Yet, creativity is stifled, and they are not allowed to be different from society.
According to Raphael, “no living
creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want—or in the case of human
beings, from vanity” (More 61). Humans often fall victim to their pride and
flaunt their possessions to show that they are more superior than others.
Because arrogance and selfishness are capable of corrupting a society, the
state imposes rules so that each citizen is as equal as possible. Private
property is abolished, and supplies are shared. Additionally, the state
controls each person’s work day, and they fail to value individuality. Even though Utopian citizens live in
comfort and never have to worry about their needs being provided for, they have
extremely limited freedom. They are stripped of their free-will and
creative expression and are forced to conform to the pattern of their society.
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ReplyDeleteHere’s how I imagine Pascal would respond to your post: I think you did an excellent job summarizing the main points in Utopia. The idea that a community without free will or creative expression may ever exist is highly unlikely. The reason this is impossible is the “wretchedness of human life” and “as they have realized that, they have taken to distractions” (Pascal 12). These distractions include self-indulgence, which would take value and importance away from the whole. This would ultimately cause the Utopian Society to split apart and fail.
ReplyDeleteHere is how I imagine C.S. Lewis would respond to your post:
ReplyDeleteMadelyn, you make an excellent point that Thomas More’s Utopia strips away many of the small freedoms that you Americans cherish so dearly. While More does, in fact, depict a world with little freedom of expression and limited creativity, there is a reason that he pulls the reins on his Utopian citizens so tightly. Because of man’s sinful nature, the only semi-realistic way to portray a perfect society is to attempt to have control over man. The equality he creates among the citizens is More’s of straying as far from avarice, gluttony, and pride as possible; however, man can only stray so far from his innate nature. For this reason, I decided to create the ideal society that does not consist of man, but of hnau. I recognize that as long as we are human, we will be unable to inhabit an ideal society because we ourselves are unideal. More does an excellent job of portraying a society inhabited by broken hnau, while attempting to terminate the bent ones, and as I have said before, “a bent hnau can do more evil than a broken one” (Lewis 137). More successfully creates a society in which men harmoniously exist with one another, and in the process he strips away some of their individual freedoms, yet he does not take them away out of malice, but because he must, for it is impossible to create an perfect society composed of imperfect citizens.