Like many of the other readings that we have looked at already in this class, I think that the society that Moore proposes is a great one overall. There is, like always, the question of whether or not this society would actually be able to be successful if it were real. No matter what the authors claim of these fictional societies and people, we come from a society and have a background where people cannot be trusted to the extent that More describes the Utopians. We always face these readings with the infamous fig stealer at the forefront of our mind.
Despite the questions about what can and cannot work in this society, there were many things that I liked about the way More set up Utopia. I agreed very strongly with the government and the way it was run and used. It is not a government like the one that we have today or like More had while he was writing. The government officials are not elected, but are appointed by the people. Those appointed do not act as though they have power over the other people. They are more like caretakers and they make sure that their people have what they need. It is at these officials' houses that the people of the towns are fed and the officials are the ones that work to distribute the wealth. I also really enjoyed that there was no official justice system. There were some understood and accepted laws, like those about drifters and deserters, but the other issues were handled on a case by case basis.
I also enjoyed how the schedule was arranged. I found myself thinking as I read that I could be happy in a society where I was required to work and give back to society for six hours a day, which I found to be very reasonable. They were then allowed to attend educational lectures or continue working. I loved that both lunch and dinner began with reading from an intellectual work, and I loved the table arrangements. I think that I took so kindly to this lifestyle because no one is overworked. I am in charge of my own schedule and find myself constantly running back and forth trying to get everything done that I need to do, and usually there are just not enough hours in the day. This lifestyle really appealed to me because I would not be able to do this to myself and would be able to have time to do things that I enjoy doing, like attending the educational lectures.
I also really enjoyed the discussion of the uses for money, gold, silver and jewels. I found this to be very backward from how we think and how they thought during More's time, but I loved it! I really enjoyed the discussion about nature and his comment about how nature gives us everything that we need, so the gold and silver and jewels that are buried are not necessary and should not be given a higher value than a more useful material like iron. I love that they made these metals something to be looked down upon, and I think More was correct when he said that by using the metals the Utopians were convinced that they were nothing, but by locking them up, they would spark curiosity. I also laughed when I read that jewels were reserved for the toddlers. I think that in a society where money is of no value, they dealt with the objects that were deemed valuable in other societies in a very clever way that really did make them of no value in their society.
There were a few things that I did disagree with as the book continued on, but they were not huge things, rather, things I found to be strange. I found the rules governing the act of marriage to be strange, but I wonder if they were more in line with the practices of More's time and society than they are with ours. I keep putting myself in the place of the girl for that awkward first meeting and just cannot wrap my head around how that could be normal. I also found their means of population control to be strange. I understood moving people around if they towns got too full, but I did not understand how they were able to let the colonists onto the island without any conflict.
That last idea brings me to my main thought as I went through the end of this book. I found the ideas of respect and understanding to be of utmost importance in not only Utopian society but all of the other surrounding societies. The Utopians all had respect for each other and for how the society was run, and those outside of Utopia seemed to have a relatively good understanding of how the Utopians lived and accepted them and left them alone. I cannot help imagining this society in the world today and the need that many of the larger powers would have to make a trip over and enlighten them to the ways of a perfect world as we have done so many times before. So, I guess I really do like More's ideas, but I still have those lingering questions of how this society would actually work in a world like the one we live in today and if it would actually work as well as More says it does if it did exist.
I like the fact that you brought up how their government works. It's interesting that our motto remains to be government for the people by the people. And while it is a democracy that allows us to vote for our president and other government officials, are they really who we want? The candidates are always people who have climbed the government ladder and who move from position to position, always politicking and trying to sway a crowd. But we never really have that chance to truly nominate someone that we would want. Maybe we would be better governed by finding, nominating and then electing someone of our own choosing whom we trust and put up for the position, instead of someone who is well practiced in the art of charming and persuading.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that their set up of work and leisure is nice. While we currently typically stand by an eight hour work day, many jobs actually require more hours than that or have so much work that it runs over into the spare time left. A teacher or professor must spend time grading papers, a boss make ask for people to work overtime on a big project coming up or we just might not be able to get work off our mind and spend time at the dinner table on our phone typing out emails and reports. I think 6 hours is a nice balance. Everyone is contributing and doing their part. And then in that spare time, that leisure is used for learning. So many people stop trying to learn once they've nailed down a career. I always say that I love learning and would stay in school forever, and this would actually allow me to be in a society where I can work and contribute, and in return, still have the pleasure of receiving further education.
I want to be shocked that democracy took so long to come around in real life because it's so clearly the best way to please the people, but then again, I guess it's hard to start a democracy when suggesting one gets you beheaded. In any case, I agree with your reading of the text in a way that makes the governmental and scheduling structures look appealing; I could do with a little less hour-by-hour clockwork scheduling myself, but that's just me.
ReplyDeleteI also was fascinated by the talk of gold and jewels. It blows my mind today that people are willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on certain pieces of jewelry, when you could just buy a knockoff that looks close enough without bankrupting your great-great-grandchildren. I'd rather be given a sandwich than a chunk of gold, because I could do more with it...except that, because some weirdos are willing to pay a lot for the gold, it's "worth" more. I know that's how supply and demand work, but I find it vain that something as purely aesthetic as a chunk of gold could be worth years of something useful like food.