Author Description

Utopia One Of These Topics, Germane To More's Time, Is That Of Enclosure: The Practice Of Fencing In ('enclosing') Common Land For Private Use, Frequently The Profitable Practice Of Sheep-rearing For Wool Production. The Discussion Of Enclosure Results In Perhaps The Most Famous Passage From Utopia, In Which Hythloday Suggests That The Sheep Of England Are 'devourers Of Men', Because Their (enclosed) Grazing Land Causes The Deaths Of Those Who Might Have Otherwise Taken Their Livelihood From It. The Critique Of Enclosure Connects More's Mission To The Low Countries (his Negotiations Primarily Concerned The Cloth Trade) With The Theme Of Private Versus Common Property, Which Runs Through The Text. At Last, Hythloday Brings The Conversation To A Discussion Of An Island He Had Visited In The New World, Called Utopia, In Which There Is No Private Property. With Private Property Abolished, Hythloday Posits That So Too Is Eliminated Pride, Which He Holds To Be The Greatest Of All Sins And The Source Of All Ills In Contemporary European Society. In Book Ii, Hythloday Is The Narrator, And Focus Shifts To His Lengthy Description Of The Island Of Utopia. This Longer Book Covers Utopia's Geography, Customs, Laws, Culture, Military Exploits, History And Religion, Among Other Things. The Island Of Utopia Stands In Stark Contrast To Its Parallel: England. Whereas In England Social Fictions Such As Property And Rank Divide The People, In Utopia Equality Keeps All Its Citizenry United And, As A Result, Happy. There Is No Private Property In Utopia; Homes Are Assigned By Lottery And Periodically Exchanged. Though There Are Roles-such As Priest Or Statesman-which Are Accorded Respect, They Bring Them No Sense Of Elevation In Anything Like A Social Hierarchy. Utopia Is Largely Tolerant Of Religious Pluralism (with A Few Notable Exceptions) And Has Not Previously Been Made Aware Of Christianity. Its Religion Is Based On Reason, An Experiment In Imagining A Pre-christian 'natural Religion', Though One That Well Suited To The Adoption Of Christianity. All Citizens-for All Are Republican Citizens And Not Subjects To A Ruler-are Offered Healthcare, Education And The Opportunity To Follow The Trade That Best Suits Them. Perhaps More Darkly, Unappealing Occupations Are Taken By Slaves, Who For The Most Part Are Foreign Enemies Or Domestic Criminals. Woven Into The Idealism Of Utopia Are Some Comic Elements (such As The Pre-marital Inspection Of The Naked Bride And Groom) And Some More Troubling Ones (the Widespread Use Of Slavery Or Acceptance Of Euthanasia, For Instance). Whenever Possible, The Text Takes Time To Mock More's Contemporary Society, For Instance In The Tale Of The Ambassadors Who Bedecked Themselves In Gold And Gems, Only To Be Laughed At By Utopia's Children, Who Associate Such Ornamentation With Simpletons And Slaves. Beneath Such An Amusing Picture Are Layers Of Further Satire: More Is Implying That The Gold Chains Worn By Nobles And Officers Of The King Are Signs Of Servitude To Their Ruler. How Firmly His Tongue Was In His Cheek, However, Is A Matter For Debate. In Fact, Just About All Of Utopia Is Open To Dispute, An Openness Suggested By Its Ambiguous And Enigmatic Ending. The End Of Book Ii Returns To More's Narrative Perspective, And He Reflects On What Hythloday Has Described, Concluding That, Though There Is Much To Be Admired About Utopia, Its Customs Were Unlikely To Be Implemented In Contemporary Europe. Utopia Brings Together A Wide Variety Of Debates And Influences Into One 'little Book'. More Is Pulling On Classical Literature-the Works Of Plato, Lucian, Cicero-as Well As Much More Recent Texts Detailing The Cultures Of The So-called New World. He Is Reflecting On His Society In England, While Also Making Contributions To A Wider European Intellectual Conversation. There Are Specific References To European Princes, Such As Henry Vii And Francis I, As Well As Broader Arguments About The Nature Of Kingship. The Debate Is Rooted In A Real Moment In Time-summer 1515-and Yet More Also Creates An Entirely Fictional World On His Island, Inspired, In Turn, By Real Reports Of European Impressions Of Peoples Encountered During The European Age Of Exploration. Part Of The Genius Of Utopia Is This Layering Of Fact And Fiction, Which Further Propels The Reader Into A Consideration Of What Might Be Artificial About Their Own World: Conventions Such As The Value Of Gold, The Notion Of Private Property And The Importance Of Social Hierarchies-- Provided By Publisher.