What is Utopia? Can an ideal society even exist? In our British Literature class, we examined several works whose authors explored the concept of utopia.
Throughout the class, several settings included some aspects of a utopian society -- the hall at Heorot, after Beowulf killed Grendel and the men were at peace; King Arthur's Camelot--when they weren't fighting and his wife, Queen Guinevere, wasn't going off with Lancelot; or maybe Avalon, that legendary island, almost an earthly paradise, where King Arthur went to be healed of his fatal wounds (a bit oxymoronic), and where Lanval traveled to with his gorgeous fairy queen. Yes, I think Avalon best fits the title of Utopia, largely because it is an unknown island where only healing and blessings exist.
Throughout the class, several settings included some aspects of a utopian society -- the hall at Heorot, after Beowulf killed Grendel and the men were at peace; King Arthur's Camelot--when they weren't fighting and his wife, Queen Guinevere, wasn't going off with Lancelot; or maybe Avalon, that legendary island, almost an earthly paradise, where King Arthur went to be healed of his fatal wounds (a bit oxymoronic), and where Lanval traveled to with his gorgeous fairy queen. Yes, I think Avalon best fits the title of Utopia, largely because it is an unknown island where only healing and blessings exist.
 |
| https://www.britannica.com/topic/Utopia-by-More#/media/1/620772/163819 |
Sir Thomas More created his own ideal utopia and dictated the rules, principles, and characteristics of this island nation, purportedly visited by Rapheal Hythloday in his novel, Utopia. What are some of the characteristics of this utopian society?
- Everyone works six hours a day - no idlers
- Goods are justly distributed
- Scholarship and learning are respected
- Buildings are built to last
- Compassion reigns - not competition
- Everyone eats well - they all eat meals in the community together
- Very few laws and no lawyers
- They live on an island and detest/avoid war
Sounds good, right? Well, there are other characteristics that are not so "utopian." This society also includes the following:
- No money or private property
- No lawyers (not sure which side to put this on!)
- People are moved from the city to country - rotated into new settings and families
- Slavery exists (can a society be utopian if slaves are necessary?)
- Each city is ruled by a prince elected for life
- Those who are elderly and infirm are urged to starve themselves
What do you think? Here are a few characteristics of a utopia I would want to live in:
- Equal opportunities and rights for women and men, all races, old and young, immigrant and native
- No discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, race, language, differently-abled
- A Government that truly is "of" the people, "for" the people, and "by" the people - led by men and women who are compassionate, intelligent, humble, and wise
- Free expression is encouraged but hateful acts and speech are so disparaged and de-legitimized that no one wants to engage in it
- Dialogue and community replace violence and misunderstanding
- Universal education and health care for all
- A hybrid capitalist/socialist society where all have needs met and no one is abysmally poor or unnaturally wealthy
- Freedom of religion - personal and corporate
I could go on and on. I believe there are aspects of American society that are utopian--though it's hard to see it right now.
Please add your thoughts -- what are some of the elements of your Utopia?
