Thomas More's Utopia

1. Utopia: Christian Synthesis

1.1. The Christian aspect of the synthesis is Christ's gospel of caring for the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden.

1.2. The Platonic, Republican tradition is the Greek aspect of the synthesis.

1.3. More wrote Utopia with a comedic tone, allowing him to speak his truth while telling a deeper story.

2. Use of Slavery

2.1. Every household has two slaves, either foreigners or Utopian criminals.

3. Government

3.1. Other significant innovations of Utopia include: a welfare state with free hospitals, euthanasia permissible by the state, priests being allowed to marry, divorce permitted, premarital sex punished by a lifetime of enforced celibacy and adultery being punished by enslavement.

4. Critique of Great Britain

4.1. Calling Britain "Pigs."

4.2. Contrasts contentious social life of European states with the perfectly orderly, reasonable social arrangements of Utopia.

5. Happiness

6. Overview of Utopia

6.1. Thomas More's Utopia is a Christian-humanist view of an ideal society.

6.2. More does not simply offer a theoretical view, but provides specifics for how to create this world.

6.3. Utopia offers a Christianized form of Plato's Republic.

7. Use of Humor and Parody

7.1. Utopia means "no where," meaning that this is a society that cannot be achieved.

7.2. Every thirty houses is divided into groups called "Styes;" Pigs reside in styes, so More is essentially calling Britains "pigs."

8. Property Division

8.1. Communal ownership of land, meaning no private property. With this law, everyone shares the same land and can only make the same amount of profits.

9. Working Life

9.1. Communistic Lifestyle

9.2. Agriculture is the most important source of income. Every person is trained to labor in the field, men and women doing the same work.

9.3. Citizens must also learn key trades such as, weaving, carpentry, metalsmithing, and masonry.