Utopia- Thomas More

1. He lays most of the problems of theft at the cause of enclosure—the enclosing of common land—and the subsequent poverty and starvation of people who are denied access to land because of sheep farming.

2. Utopia- Christian Synthesis

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

2.2. The Pkatonic, Reoublican tradition is the Greek aspect of the synthesis.

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

3. How does Utopia use humor and parody?

3.1. The title "Utopia" means Nowhere

3.2. Each community and government is referred to as a sty.

3.2.1. Sty = where pigs live

4. How is property divided in Utopia? How does this affect Society

4.1. There is no private ownership on Utopia, with goods being stored in warehouses and people requesting what they need.

4.2. There are also no locks on the doors of the houses, which are rotated between the citizens every ten years.

5. What is working life like in Europe?

5.1. Agriculture is the most important job on the island. Every person is taught it and must live in the countryside, farming, for two years at a time, with women doing the same work as men. Parallel to this, every citizen must learn at least one of the other essential trades: weaving (mainly done by the women), carpentry, metalsmithing and masonry. There is deliberate simplicity about these trades; for instance, all people wear the same types of simple clothes and there are no dressmakers making fine apparel.

5.2. All able-bodied citizens must work; thus unemployment is eradicated, and the length of the working day can be minimised: the people only have to work six hours a day (although many willingly work for longer). More does allow scholars in his society to become the ruling officials or priests, people picked during their primary education for their ability to learn. All other citizens are however encouraged to apply themselves to learning in their leisure time.

6. How is Utopia a social critique of Great Britain?

6.1. The modern ills affecting Europe such as the tendency of kings to start wars and the subsequent bleeding away of money on fruitless endeavours.

6.2. He also criticizes the use of execution to punish theft saying that thieves might as well murder whom they rob, to remove witnesses, if the punishment is going to be the same.

7. How do people in Utopia find happiness?

7.1. AHA! Trick Question because there is no utopia!

7.2. ...maybe also through religious practice and working

8. Overview

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

8.2. Thomas More;s Utopia is a Christian- humanist view of an ideal society

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

9. Why does Utopia use slavery?

9.1. Slavery is a feature of Utopian life and it is reported that every household has two slaves. The slaves are either from other countries or are the Utopian criminals. These criminals are weighed down with chains made out of gold. The gold is part of the community wealth of the country, and fettering criminals with it or using it for shameful things like chamber pots gives the citizens a healthy dislike of it.

9.2. It also makes it difficult to steal as it is in plain view. The wealth, though, is of little importance and is only good for buying commodities from foreign nations or bribing these nations to fight each other. Slaves are periodically released for good behaviour.

10. What is the government like in Utopia?