About four centuries before star treck, about three centuries before Jules Verne and his time

machine,
and two centuries before Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel, there was Sir Thomas more’s Utopia.

Utopia which translates roughly as “no place” by the Greeks, was published on 1516. The book plays a
key role of the humanist awakening in the 16 th century, which moved away medieval otherworldliness
towards renaissance secularism.

A utopia (/juːˈtoʊpiə/ yoo-TOH-pee-ə) is an imagined community or society that possesses

highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens. The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia.
One could also say that utopia is a perfect 'place' that has been made so there are no problems.

Utopian ideals often place emphasis on egalitarian principles of equality in economics,

government and justice, though by no means exclusively, with the method and structure of
proposed implementation varying based on ideology. According to Lyman Tower Sargent
"[t]here are socialist, capitalist, monarchical, democratic, anarchist, ecological, feminist,
patriarchal, egalitarian, hierarchical, racist, left-wing, right-wing, reformist, free love, nuclear
family, extended family, gay, lesbian, and many more utopias".[1]

Utopia themes:

1. Common welfare vs. pricate interest

-Individual and private activities are discouraged.
Utopia is not a natural paradise: it was painstakingly planned and crafted by a great commander
named Utopus

Utopia Study Guide

Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516. The work was written in Latin and it was published in
Louvain (present-day Belgium). Utopia is a work of satire, indirectly criticizing Europe's
political corruption and religious hypocrisy. More was a Catholic Humanist. Alongside his close
friend, the philosopher and writer Erasmus, More saw Humanism as a way to combine faith and
reason. In depicting Utopia, More steps outside the bounds of orthodox Catholicism, but More's
ultimate goal is to indicate areas of improvement for Christian society. Is an ideal state possible?
Utopia means "no place" but sounds like "good place." At the very least, Utopia exposes the
absurdities and evils of More's society by depicting an alternative.

As a satirist, More continues the tradition of Ancient Roman writers like Juvenal and Horace. As
a philosopher brave enough to tackle the idea of the "ideal state," More leans away from
Aristotle and towards Plato, author of The Republic. Sustaining the arguments of The Republic,
Utopia fashions a society whose rulers are scholars (not unlike Plato's philosopher-king). Though
Aristotle was opposed to the idea of common property and the abolition of private property,
Aristotle's ideas of aesthetics, justice and harmony are present in the Utopian's philosophy.

A devout Catholic, More was beheaded as a martyr in 1535, standing opposed to the principle of
the Anglican Church and the King of England's role as the head of the Church (replacing the
Pope in Rome). In the 1530s, More wrote polemical tracts and essays attacking Lutheranism as
heresy. All the same, More's Utopia implies that Utopians are better than some Christians. St.
Augustine's City of God established the theme of the earthly city of God, reiterating the image of
New Jerusalem presented in the Biblical Book of Revelations. Utopia is a type of New
Jerusalem, a perfect place on earth. The Puritan experiments of the 1600s (in Britain and in
North America) exemplify the programming of Utopian New Jerusalem.

Certianly, we must remember the context of New World exploration. Raphael Hythloday gives
us the story of Utopia because he once sailed with Amerigo Vespucci. The First Four Voyages of
Amerigo Vespucci was published in Latin in 1507. Columbus, Vespucci, and others returned
with stories of the New World but earlier works of Marco Polo and John Mandeville already
developed a genre of travel writing‹stories of far-off lands that combined fact with a great deal
of fiction. More uses the New World theme to get his philosophical points across. He is less
interested in New World politics and more interested in offering Utopia as an indirect critique of
the Catholic European societies (England mainly, but also France, the Italian city-states, and
other areas to a lesser extent). More opposed the vast land enclosures of the wealthy English
aristocracy, the monopolistic maneuvers of London's guilds and merchants, and the burdensome
oppression of the work through the imposition of unjust laws.

More's work has left a lasting impact on subsequent political thought and literature. The Greek
word Utopia translates as "no place" or "nowhere," but in modern parlance, a Utopia is a good
place, an ideal place (eu-topia). The term "utopia" has gained more significance than More's
original work. Utopia has inspired a diverse group of political thinkers. The utilitarian
philosophy expounded in the late 1700s and early 1800s developed the idea of the ideal and
perfect balance of happiness. Jeremy Bentham, a leading Utilitarian thinker, developed ideas of
surveillance and the panopticon by which all can be seen. These reformatory practices, designed
to quantify happiness, calculate moral goodness and produce the optimal balance, echo the anti-
privacy measures inflicted upon the citizens of More's Utopia.

In the 1800s, the rise of urban industrialization triggered the proliferation of Utopian projects
(agricultural communes), all of which failed. Utopia became the project of creating an ideal
society apart from the demoralizing city. These Utopian projects were especially popular in
Britain, France, and New England. The Utopian celebration of common property and
dependence upon extensive state planning are the groundwork for communism and socialism as
presented in Marx and Engels' written works. 1848, the year of Marx's Communist Manifesto is a
year of urban revolutions. Utopia's criticisms of the nobility's perversion of law to subjugate the
poor were applied to the suffering of industrial and factory workers. The abolition of money,
private property, and class structure would undermine the power of the bourgeoisie. Socialists
believed that agricultural economies with property held in common would cure the ills of
industrial capitalization.

With the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the twentieth-century rise of communism, the ills of
Utopia were made evident. The overbearing regulation and stifling of individualism were
apparent in the communist Eastern Bloc and Soviet states. To be sure, More was neither a
Communist nor a Socialist‹and it wouldn't necessarily be accurate to call More a Utopian either.
All the same, More's work certainly propelled the philosophical development of these themes.

As a literary work, Utopia has retained its power to impact British and American writiers. From
the Greek prefix dys- (i.e. bad, ill) comes the word "Dystopia," reflecting Utopia's negative
qualities. Dickens' novels of industrialized Britain depict planned factory cities gone wrong‹like
the city of Coketown in Hard Times. Utopia remains in the backdrop: a desirable alternative but
an equally failing effort. Works like George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World,
and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 are dystopic novels that warn of the false hope of heavily
programmed utopias. In 1887, a New England socialist named Edward Bellamy wrote Looking
Backward, a novel that glanced into the future, presenting a celebratory image of a Utopian
America.

The word Utopia has a double meaning then. In the academic disciplines of architecture and
urban planning, leading figures like Lewis Mumford, Le Corbusier, and Frederic Law Olmsted
(creator of Central Park) all developed the idea of Utopia in a positive sense. In political theory,
however, Utopia has often been interpreted as a most dangerous form of naiveté. The impulse to
plan perfection leads to the tyranny of Orwell's "Big Brother."

Next Section Utopia Summary

Thomas more
Milkstreet London, feb 7 1478
Studied greek and latin literature in oxford
1494 more retured to London to study law and was admitted to Lincoln’s inn in 1496 and
became a barrister in 1501
. He was torn between a monastic calling and a life of civil service
While at Lincoln's Inn, he determined to become a monk and subjected himself to the discipline
of the Carthusians, living at a nearby monastery and taking part of the monastic life
Entered parliament in 1504 and married his first wife, Jane colt, in 1505. They had four children
One of More's first acts in Parliament had been to urge a decrease in a proposed
appropriation for King Henry VII
In 1510, he was appointed one of the two under-sheriffs of London. In this capacity,
he gained a reputation for being impartial, and a patron to the poor. In 1511, More's
first wife died in childbirth
In 1518 he became a member of the Privy Council, and was knighted in
More was also instrumental in quelling a 1517 London uprising against foreigners, portrayed in
the play Sir Thomas More, possibly by Shakespeare
 More had garnered Henry's favor, and was made Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523 and
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1525. As Speaker, More helped establish the
parliamentary privilege of free speech. He refused to endorse King Henry VIII's plan to divorce
Katherine of Aragón (1527). Nevertheless, after the fall of Thomas Wolsey in 1529, More became
Lord Chancellor, the first layman yet to hold the post
He resigned in 1532
In April, 1534, More refused to swear to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy, and
was committed to the Tower of London on April 17.  More was found guilty of treason and was
beheaded alongside Bishop Fisher on July 6, 1535. More's final words on the scaffold were: "The
King's good servant, but God's First." More was beatified in 1886 and canonized by the Catholic
Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935.

The Life of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)

"The King's good servant, but God's first."1

Thomas More was born in Milk Street, London on February 7, 1478, son of Sir John More, a prominent
judge. He was educated at St Anthony's School in London. As a youth he served as a page in the household
of Archbishop Morton, who anticipated More would become a "marvellous man."1 More went on to study
at Oxford under Thomas Linacre and William Grocyn. During this time, he wrote comedies and studied
Greek and Latin literature. One of his first works was an English translation of a Latin biography of the
Italian humanist Pico della Mirandola. It was printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1510.
      Around 1494 More returned to London to study law, was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1496, and
became a barrister in 1501. Yet More did not automatically follow in his father's footsteps. He was torn
between a monastic calling and a life of civil service. While at Lincoln's Inn, he determined to
become a monk and subjected himself to the discipline of the Carthusians, living at a nearby monastery
and taking part of the monastic life. The prayer, fasting, and penance habits stayed with him for the rest of
his life. More's desire for monasticism was finally overcome by his sense of duty to serve his
country in the field of politics. He entered Parliament in 1504, and married for the first
time in 1504 or 1505, to Jane Colt.2 They had four children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely,
and John.
      More became a close friend with Desiderius Erasmus during the latter's first visit to England in 1499.
It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and correspondence. They produced Latin translations of
Lucian's works, printed at Paris in 1506, during Erasmus' second visit. On Erasmus' third visit, in 1509, he
wrote Encomium Moriae, or Praise of Folly, (1509), dedicating it to More.
      One of More's first acts in Parliament had been to urge a decrease in a proposed
appropriation for King Henry VII. In revenge, the King had imprisoned More's father and
not released him until a fine was paid and More himself had withdrawn from public life.
After the death of the King in 1509, More became active once more. In 1510, he was
appointed one of the two under-sheriffs of London. In this capacity, he gained a reputation
for being impartial, and a patron to the poor. In 1511, More's first wife died in childbirth.
More soon married again, to Alice Middleton. They did not have children.
      During the next decade, More attracted the attention of King Henry VIII. In 1515 he accompanied a
delegation to Flanders to help clear disputes about the wool trade. Utopia opens with a reference to this
very delegation. More was also instrumental in quelling a 1517 London uprising against
foreigners, portrayed in the play Sir Thomas More, possibly by Shakespeare. More
accompanied the King and court to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. In 1518 he became a member of
the Privy Council, and was knighted in 1521.
      More helped Henry VIII in writing his Defence of the Seven Sacraments, a repudiation of Luther, and
wrote an answer to Luther's reply under a pseudonym. More had garnered Henry's favor, and was
made Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523 and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
in 1525. As Speaker, More helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech. He
 refused to endorse King Henry VIII's plan to divorce Katherine of Aragón (1527).
Nevertheless, after the fall of Thomas Wolsey in 1529, More became Lord Chancellor, the
first layman yet to hold the post.
      While his work in the law courts was exemplary, his fall came quickly. He resigned in 1532, citing
ill health, but the reason was probably his disapproval of Henry's stance toward the
church. He refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn in June 1533, a matter which did not escape
the King's notice. In 1534 he was one of the people accused of complicity with Elizabeth Barton, the nun of
Kent who opposed Henry's break with Rome, but was not attainted due to protection from the Lords who
refused to pass the bill until More's name was off the list of names. 3
      In April, 1534, More refused to swear to the Act of Succession and the Oath of
Supremacy, and was committed to the Tower of London on April 17.  More was found guilty
of treason and was beheaded alongside Bishop Fisher on July 6, 1535. More's final words
on the scaffold were: "The King's good servant, but God's First." More was beatified in
1886 and canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935.