![]() Also, it shows that in order to uphold the belief in God and the afterlife, Utopia relies on repressive principles such as the restriction of the freedom of speech. At this point the chapter utilises James Nendza’s argument in ‘Religion and Republicanism in More's Utopia’ to show that by necessitating a belief in God and the afterlife, Utopia contradicts several of its principles such as upholding a society exclusively based on reason. The chapter reveals that Utopia attempts to maintain social order by suggesting that God will recompense the pleasures, which are sacrificed to secure the social order, in the afterlife. Chapter one begins by examining the way in which Utopia attempts to uphold its hedonistic moral framework whilst trying to handle the problem of social order that comes with telling its citizens that individual pleasure is the end of all human activity. However, it is important to reiterate that the aim of this study is not to assess if More’s Utopia is plausible in practice, but to examine if it truly is an ideal society by virtue of its principles staying rationally coherent to all the other affirmations put forward within the text and Utopia promoting legitimately ideal principles in the first place. Before going any further, reservations about the practicality of Utopia will arise. This is because there can be theoretical systems of government that might not contradict its own ideals, but the ideals themselves might be far from perfect. Secondly, the principles that the society proposes as its ideals and the implementations of such principles within the theoretical context must indeed be ideal. This is because incoherence in political theory highlights the proposed model’s frailty. Firstly, the system it proposes must be logically coherent, its ideals and affirmations therefore should not contradict one and other. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he is also the author of 50 Economics Classics (2017) and 50 Politics Classics (2015).To investigate the idealness of Utopia, its moral, economic and social spheres must be examined, and to qualify as an ideal society, Utopia must satisfy two conditions. TOM BUTLER-BOWDEN is Series Editor of the Capstone Classics series, and has provided introductions for Plato's Republic, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, Machiavelli's The Prince, Florence Scovel Shinn's The Game of Life and How to Play It, and Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. His most recent book, A Little History of Economics, was published by Yale University Press in 2017. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Warwick and has taught economic history at the London School of Economics. NIALL KISHTAINY is a writer with interests in economics and in the history of ideas. More's Utopia contrasts the squalor and brutal politics of the England of his time with a picture of a peaceful and prosperous society. His brilliance made him an advisor and friend of King Henry VIII. SIR THOMAS MORE was a rising intellectual star of Renaissance Europe. Part of the bestselling Capstone Classics series edited by Tom Butler-Bowdon, this edition features an introduction from writer, economist, and historian Niall Kishtainy. ![]() * Appreciate the postmodern possibilities of Platonic dialogue * Peer inside the enigmatic mind of the man who dared stand up to Henry VIII * Early communist tract or a defense of medieval values? You decide. * Explore the issues like feminism, euthanasia, and equality through Renaissance eyes Claimed as a paean to communism (Lenin had More's name inscribed on a statue in Moscow) as often as it has been seen as a defense of traditional medieval values, Utopia began the lineage of utopian thinkers who use storytelling to explore new possibilities for human society-and remains as relevant today as when it was written in Antwerp 500 years ago. In the form of a Platonic dialogue, Utopia explores topics such as money, property, crime, education, religious tolerance, euthanasia, and feminism. Written by Sir Thomas More (1477-1535)-then a rising intellectual star of the Renaissance and ultimately the advisor and friend of Henry VIII who was executed for his devoutly Catholic opposition to the king-Utopia is as complex as its author. As the traveler describes the harmony, prosperity, and equality found there, a dramatic contrast is drawn between the ideal community he portrays and the poverty, crime, and often frightening political conditions of 16th century Europe. Utopia-which could mean either "good-place" or "no-place"-gives a traveler's account of a newly discovered island somewhere in the New World where the inhabitants enjoy a social order based purely on natural reason and justice. In 1516, a book was published in Latin with the enigmatic Greek-derived word as its title. What we can learn from a Renaissance nowhere
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