Utopia- Thomas More

1. Christian Synthesis

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

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. Working Life in Utopia

2.1. Every person is taught to work on a farm for 2 years, with women doing the same job as men.

2.2. Agriculture is the most important job on the island.

2.3. Every citizen must also learn one of the four primary trades: weaving, metalsmithing, carpentry, and masonry.

3. Government

3.1. Thirty households are grouped together under the leadership of the Styward and 10 Stywards are overseen by the Bencheaters.

3.2. Each town has a mayor that is elected from the Bencheaters.

3.3. People are redistributed to different household and towns to balance the number of people.

3.4. If the island becomes overpopulated colonies are set up. If the island is underpopulated they would call the colonists back to the island.

4. Social Critique of Great Britian

4.1. Looking down upon a monarchy and a society controlled by the wealthy.

4.2. More wanted a simple communal life instead of the busy lifestyle in London.

5. Overview

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

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

5.3. Utopia offers Christianized form of Plato's Republic.

6. How does Utopia use humor and parody?

6.1. Utopia means nowhere, so basically he is saying that a perfect society is impossible.

6.2. Each community government group is called sty. Pigs live in sties, so basically he's calling all the British pigs.

7. Division of Property

7.1. In the society, there is communal ownership of all property, therefore there is no private property.

7.2. A person must get land from the government for 10 years.

7.3. There is no noble class because there are no landowners.

8. Slavery

8.1. Slaves are either from other countries or criminals.

8.2. They used slaves to help them in the fields. They were sometimes released for good behavior.

9. How people in Utopia find happiness

9.1. Gambling, hunting, makeup, and astrology are all discouraged in Utopia.

9.2. Travel