UTOPIA

BY
SIR THOMAS MORE

Genre: Fiction and Political Philosophy

Published: 1516

More travels to Antwerp as an ambassador for

England and King Henry VIII. While not
engaged in his official duties, More spends
time conversing about intellectual matters with
his friend, Peter Giles. One day, More sees
Giles speaking to a bearded man whom More
assumes to be a ship's captain. Giles soon
introduces More to this new man, Raphael
Hythloday, who turns out to be a philosopher
and world traveler. The three men retire to
Giles's house for supper and conversation, and
Hythloday begins to speak about his travels.
Hythloday has been on many voyages with the noted explorer Amerigo Vespucci, traveling to the
New World, south of the Equator, through Asia, and eventually landing on the island of Utopia.
He describes the societies through which he travels with such insight that Giles and More
become convinced that Hythloday would make a terrific counselor to a king. Hythloday refuses
even to consider such a notion. A disagreement follows, in which the three discuss Hythloday's
reasons for his position. To make his point, Hythloday describes a dinner he once shared in
England with Cardinal Morton and a number of others. During this dinner, Hythloday proposed
alternatives to the many evil civil practices of England,
such as the policy of capital punishment for the crime of
theft. His proposals meet with derision, until they are
given legitimate thought by the Cardinal, at which point
they meet with great general approval. Hythloday uses
this story to show how pointless it is to counsel a king
when the king can always expect his other counselors to
agree with his own beliefs or policies. Hythloday then
goes on to make his point through a number of other
examples, finally noting that no matter how good a
proposed policy is, it will always look insane to a
person used to a different way of seeing the world.
Hythloday points out that the policies of the Utopians
are clearly superior to those of Europeans, yet adds that
Europeans would see as ludicrous the all-important
Utopian policy of common property. More and Giles do
disagree with the notion that common property is
superior to private property, and the three agree that

Hythloday should describe the Utopian society in more detail. First, however, they break for
lunch.
Back from lunch, Hythloday describes the geography and history of Utopia. He explains how the
founder of Utopia, General Utopus, conquered the isthmus on which Utopia now stands and
through a great public works effort cut away the land to make an island. Next, Hythloday moves
to a discussion of Utopian society, portraying a nation based on rational thought, with communal
property, great productivity, no rapacious love of gold, no real class distinctions, no poverty, little
crime or immoral behavior, religious tolerance, and little inclination to war. It is a society that
Hythloday believes is superior to any in Europe.
Hythloday finishes his description and More explains that after so much talking, Giles,
Hythloday, and he were too tired to discuss the particular points of Utopian society. More
concludes that many of the Utopian customs described by Hythloday, such as their methods of
making war and their belief in communal property, seem absurd. He does admit, however, that he
would like to see some aspects of Utopian society put into practice in England, though he does
not believe any such thing will happen.