Utopia as an Unending Journey

First off, I rather enjoyed the fact that these texts read like science fiction novels instead of lists with rules and regulations.  To me the fictional set-up of the story the story showcases the idea that the world described is never going to exist.  Instead, the stories demonstrate that there are changes to be made to the existing system that could bring about a better society in the long run.  The narrative incites more interest because, of course, it is less laborious to read than a list of how to make a better place.  The story also gives us the seeds of how things would be carried out in this imaginary world already constructed for us.  I think that with the world and scenarios already created for us, we can more actively apply the ideas to our own world.  The story line gives a more solid foundation from which to build our own ideas.  The lists seem to broadly point out the way a society should be set up, but does very little to actually apply it to how modern people live. 

I found it interesting the different perspectives on technology and urbanization that Morris and Bellamy displayed.  Where one has people living in a city like setting the other describes a world more basic and somewhat primitive.  It struck me as an underlying conflict over whether man is better off in the city or the country although I somewhat doubt this was the intention.  I have actually wondered this myself so this may be the reason this contrast stood out to me.  Having been raised in a city I definitely enjoy the amenities of being surrounded by everything I need or wanted whether it be for entertainment or necessities.  Not to mention our technological advances have made many aspects of life extremely convenient.  However, I also see how we do get too engrossed in the technology we have created for ourselves to the point that the technology in some ways runs our lives.  

Although Bellamy and Morris have different ideas on the layout of Utopia, I cannot help but feel that the most important tenants of their societies were very similar.  The division of work, the motivation to work, and the eradication of a monetary system were all important in our discussions of what a utopia looks like.  The idea that class causes more issues than it solves has come up before in our readings.  Both these texts seem to attempt to destroy the ideas that people are of different classes based on the money they earn or their particular occupation.  Jobs such as waiting tables are not viewed in poor regard.  Everyone has access to the same resources so nothing is unequal in that regard.  And finally even labor is made to be divided by what a person enjoys although the two authors go about making jobs themselves easier. Jobs are a central idea to the construction of our idea of what Utopia is and the way these two authors present the labor force is quite a bit different from what the previous texts have suggested.