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Sir Thomas More was born in England in 1478 and worked as chancellor to King Henry VIII during the king's controversial break with the Catholic church. More was a Christian man who relied heavily on his own conscience. He stood up for religious tolerance and Christian charity. He was "unwilling to compromise his conviction as a Roman Catholic" (Fiero, 19) and by opposing the actions of the king, was executed for treason in 1535. Although More worked for the kind most of his life, he had a constant struggle on whether to remain loyal to the king and continue to join his services, or to remain a philosopher. When More wrote his most famous piece: Utopia (1516) the first literary description of a "perfect" or ideal state since "Republic" by Plato. More centered this story around Europe's statecraft and current state of society and titled it Utopia, meaning in Greek both "good place" and "no place" (Fiero, 19). More created a society where everything was equal (except to slaves) and where all citizens were equally responsible for social justice. The Utopians in the made-up society are not Christians, but stand by the Christian morals of charity and morality. More wrote "Utopia" in the form of a critique (on European state at the time) and as a political satire. In Utopian society, wives serve their husbands, and children serve their parents. Cities are divided equally into four separate parts and there is a marketplace in the center of each. At the marketplace, people bring their crops or tools they make and lay them out for people from their cities to come take back to their houses. The fathers of each family take what is necessary for their family’s survival and need not pay anything in return. In "Utopia," there is no such thing as greed and people do not want things because excess is not part of their vocabulary. People do not need money, because there is no denial for anything- there is plenty of everything to go around. The Utopians hoard a vast array of metals that they take from foreign trade and use them for the military or for anything else they need. " They have no inducements to do this, since they are sure they shall always be supplied" (Fiero, 19). People have no need for gold or silver or anything of "value" because they don't find it necessary to live. "The folly of men has enhanced the value of gold and silver, because of their scarcity. Whereas, on the contrary, it is their opinion that nature as an indulgent parent, has freely given us all the best things in great abundance" (Fiero, 19). In other words, to the Utopians things in vain are worthless. If something like gold or diamonds is attained, it is because someone in society has come across it by accident- and in this case they adorn their children with these treasures. The goods given to their children will "glory" them while they are children and when they are older they will understand that "none but children use such baubles, they of their own accords, without being being bid by their parents lay them aside" (Fiero, 19). One of the last main points More puts in his "Utopia" is that war is brutal and is extremely unnecessary and should be avoided at all cost. More says that "nothing is more inglorious than glory attained by war" (Fiero, 19) and that no matter what if a truce is made- it will never be broken. The Utopian society takes truces so seriously that nothing can make them break it. The Utopians will not burn an enemy’s crops, kill their horses or kill any man- unless he is a spy.

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During this time in England, Henry VIII was the reigning king and was not the most successful at his job. There was turmoil throughout the country- there was the very rich and there were MANY poor, which contributed quite a bit to More's philosophical theories. King Henry VIII was blowing away England's money and didn't do a great job in supporting all of society. The wealthy English were entranced by money and things of high "value" and were concerned with minute issues and not the big picture. Farmers were losing their land and were forced to move, which caused a decline in harvested crops which made prices skyrocket. This made the poor poorer and the land available was now in the hands of fewer people. This made people desperate in order to keep their families alive- so they resorted to stealing in order to survive. "By enclosing land, members of the upper class in England created a socioeconomic as well as physical division between the classes" (Park, 1). In other words, England was not a happy place-which makes it easy to understand why More wrote "Utopia" and imagined a place completely opposite to the hellish landscape around him. (This is also the King who created his OWN church because the one he was loyal to for his entire life wouldn't grant him a divorce; who would want to work under this type of person?) The characters in "Utopia" are said to represent actual historical figures during More's time period. More, Giles and Morton (the main characters in the story) all correspond to the biological history of More's life. Peter Giles was a Humanist thinker and Cardinal John Morton was the former Chancellor of England. Although the characters in the story are not exact copies of the real people, More used these names and personalities to represent actual happenings and beliefs he had. Hythloday, the character in the story who meets the three characters discussed before, informs them about a place he had traveled to before called "Utopia." He explains how no matter how good a policy or idea is (such a Utopia) it will always seem crazy to another person who sees the world differently. In the story Hythloday specifically says that the Utopian view is superior to the Europeans even though citizens of Europe would think differently. He goes on to say that he would like to see Utopian practices put into place in Europe but feels it may never happen (this is the real Sir Thomas More making it apparent that the feelings of the characters in his stories are his and that they should be taken seriously in the real world).

"Utopia" is definitely not a typical work of its era. More's thought were completely out of the ordinary for the average person during his time. Sure, many philosophers (like Plato) thought like him, but the common man wouldn't think of writing a critique on the country they live in- not without thinking of dying for treason first! His thoughts were so before his time that many disagreed with his opinions. "Utopia" was radical in its day- More's view on "idealistic revolution" (Gerard, 1) is still controversial today. Even though the world has progressed (somewhat) towards this utopian-like place, many issues addressed in "Utopia" are still not fixed today (war for instance). More was critical of the world he lived in, economic order was constantly changing and More believed a lot of the changes were evil. He wrote "Utopia" to suggest some solutions to the problems Europe was having. More's differed from philosophers like Plato's writing, because More gave to everyone in his scenario. More shows the difference between his own corrupt society and compares it to his idealistic universe. Plato, in his “Republic” talks about how idealism deals with separation of the mind and matter. He explains that someone might get ahead and be virtuous by the benefits of both the individual and the society they live in. Like more, Plato built an idealist society where people worked together to achieve a virtuous environment. Like Plato, more also feels that an educated society is a stronger society.

  People today still feel that "Utopia" is important, it is studied in many schools and is important enough to discuss with any age group. The word "Utopia" still holds true with the meaning More originally gave it- when we use utopia in a sentence people think of a "paradise" or "wonderland" type place. Not only does More offers a critique on European society, he offers a critique on every society. NO society is perfect; each can constantly work towards this "utopian" type place. "Utopia" works as a model to a society, and this is no doubt a timeless idea. More also makes comments on being a Christian and reveals that the coming of Christ is the only way to achieve perfection. The morals set up in "Utopia" are timeless and will continue to be looked at for ages. "He became a martyr for religious convictions that few others shared, and for that he was beautified." (Sparknotes, 1).

Personally, I like the ideals in "Utopia," it has a nice message and I truly wish we could all live in a world where everything was equal. My favorite part of More's argument is that war is unnecessary and that wealth is too. I found it so fascinating that he thought about these sorts of things so early in time. He was so ahead of the curve on equality and freedom- it's mind-blowing. The only part I disagree with is that Utopians still had slaves. If More was a Christian, why didn't he feel that everyone was equal? Either way, "Utopia" should be preserved and should be continually taught throughout the rest of time. "Utopia" can reach many generations and can speak to anyone who has a heart. More's words are thought out and his story is in-depth, but it is easy to understand. His morals and ideals placed inside "Utopia" are ones that everyone seeks. Peace and harmony reside on Utopia, and this is something we all wish to live in. I love the geographic context of the actual Utopian island, it is a deserted island where the country can choose to interact with the rest of the world or not. I believe this is how the United States should act, we should chose our battles wisely and think twice (or a million times!) about the price and necessity of war. "Utopia" is not only an entertaining read, it is truly inspiring.

Works Cited

Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Sir Thomas More. Pg 390

Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Gerard, W.B., and Eric Sterling. "Sir thomas More's Utopia and the transformation of England from absolute monarchy to egalitarian society." Contemporary Justice Review 8.1 (2005): 75-89. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. WEB. 12 Apr.2011.

<a href="/search~S1?/aMore,+Thomas,+Sir,+Saint,+1478-1535/amore+thomas+sir+saint+1478+1535/-3,-1,0,B/browse">More, Thomas, Sir, Saint, 1478-1535.</a> Title Utopia : a revised translation, backgrounds, criticism / Sir Thomas More ; translated and edited by Robert  M. Adams. Imprint New York : W.W. Norton, c1992. Edition 2nd ed.

Park, James W., and L. W. "The Utopian Economics of Sir Thomas More. "American

    Journal of Economics &amp; Sociology 30.3 (1971): 275-288. Business Source

            Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr 2011.

 Utopia: Spark Notes, 2011.