Category: Utopia

Introduction

The concept of an ideal life forms the core of utopia according to Saint Thomas More who developed it in the beginning of the 16^th century. His ideas follow the prevailing challenges in the social, political and economic situation of England at this time. In his book titled Utopia published in 1516, More shows different people in their vain attempt to achieve their ideals. In his utopian Book I, Moore conceptualized the idea of utopia out of strict adherence to moral and knowledge when he sailed to an island south of England. In his views, utopia refers to an ideal and imaginary island like the one they encountered during their voyage in the North. From the onset of his writing, More leant the importance of travelling not merely as of beauty but as an activity with meaning and appropriate justification to learn more from the environment. Utopian ideology embraces all areas of human life with the intention of bringing them happiness, power and creating expectancies. When Thomas More and his friends arrived in New Castle, Prince the ruler of the Utopian islands gave them a warm welcome and gave them all they needed to stay as they waited to leave for their next destination.

Utopia Book I

Thomson More thought out a land with plenty of resources in a highly productive land that had many inhabitants. Despite meeting difficulties in the first period of entry into the island, the situation gets better as they travel more into the sea. They get to see exciting places and meet people who receive them warmly. While travelling under the interest of Prince Henry the VIII, More meets Peter Giles and Raphael Hythloday who form the two main characters in his book. In this part we explore the utopia of happiness. According to Thomas More, the idea of utopia in Book I, a person(s) lives in utopia when they assume a state of merry physically or virtually away from their normal place of residence. In their daily struggle, every person seeks happiness and would even assume a state of happiness if they lack it where they stay. Many people create their own happiness in their minds to fulfill their longing for the excitement (More I 2).

Raphaels utopianism appears when his concerns of better conditions of living compared to those which prevailed at the time, as he illustrates the pictures of a place they visited in the past. More uses Raphael to illustrate the presence of a new location useful in marketing their non metallic material. He explains as though he had lived the whole of his life, many times in real life, people tend to seek after their needs with desired commitments as they wish to put up with new things, people and places. Raphaels excitement leads him to asking More about his intentions with the monarch and why he has not taken over authority for this is their nation, he knows more very minimum thing in this location. We first meet a socio-academic utopia in Raphael when he notes that Mores elevated Mores position in the monarch would make him happier. Raphael talks of a condition where he treasures his education so much that his wisdom coupled with the knowledge cannot allow his will to go hostage of any king to serve him. While More admires Raphael, we can clearly see the intricate of Raphaels happiness. In fact, view of monarchs preoccupation with issues of war disgraces his knowledge of monarch and the happiness of the entire workers in this system. In his view, knowledge should bring permanent peace and not war as it is common in most monarchs (More I 5).

Raphael also finds no happiness in the lives of ministers whose best communication revolves around any technical assistance that never comes from genuine people or fiends. Instead the ministers find cheap lies more appealing to their subjects who do not need to know about the latest business in the kingdom. In his view this are a people held hostage by their office responsibilities and the kings interest vested in their efforts. This justification on why he may require to delay work in the site of the king lead readers towards believe that Raphael rests his mind in permanent utopia as his views can only help up to pay for his basic interest. The main cause of Raphaels pride and happiness blinds his opinions to present well before Mores lawyer.

Utopia 2: Money

In his utopia, Raphael argued that the aristocracy of classical philosophers played an important role in motivating people to steal. He bases his argument on the view that not everybody can engage in business faithfully and succeed. Thus, beyond farming in productive areas, engaging in trade to generate revenue and unite the society towards some unified course. At Cardinal Mortons house, Raphael introduces us to an English lawyer who had high tendency of sentencing thieves to hash punishment of the law. Despite the fact that the subsistence farmers faced destabilization from frequent movement to and fro in their residences in England leaves us in believing that money scored little in their priority. Nonetheless, the lawyer maintained that those who steal out of any situation that might justify their course; they just have to face hanging. As the cardinals remain with no remedy for the punishment or the act, Raphael gets motivating to the readers when he suggest that people must find ways of desisting from such habits that give the society a bad name (Thomas and Booker 75).

As much as the society glorified money, human life could take the second place in the laws of the land. But Raphaels argument that the law punishing a thief should be in consistent with the divine laws, flops at Mores presentation of the value of money and how money begets money. In the view of Thomas More, reinvesting money back into the economy through treasures such as gold forms the basis of a stable economy instead of stealing the money for individual interests. These concepts made significant changes in the lives of Europeans at the time that got inspiration and motivation from the works of Thomas more. In essence, those who failed to experience mental utopia like the prisoners and unlucky slaves ended up in dystopia. Unfortunately they could not get money. Instead they depended on the working group to give them manna (More 23).

Utopia 3: Values/morals

In classical ordinances, Thomas More presents certain utopian behaviors as very rewarding to those who believe in them. More envisioned a utopian world of ideal morals where each person respects their elders and shows obedient to their parents. In his humble perspectives, people should value their families and serve the interest of every member. Living in utopia means that wives must serve their husbands in great love and submission as children owe their parents. His litany of family love, that runs through the mother, from the father, to the children in the family, demands humility and deep respect. He never delays in identifying the special parks in reward to persons who uphold the social values he narrates in the Book I.

Perhaps in an ideal situation, Thomas More introduces us to the environmental social beliefs of utopians; utopians never kill animals for the sake of enjoying an expedition. Utopians consider hunting as immoral in the conservative ideology of utopians. Only in isolated cases do utopians kill animals. This includes sacrifices offered to God for atonement of the evil committed by the people to one another and to the supreme God. In general, this practice is common among utopians and even ordinary Christians of this day. All disciples of Saint Thomas More embrace these values as worship without sacrifice for a fallen man does not appeal to God. In addition, Gods presence in the utopian world rests in the core of human virtues practiced and not merely uttered in empty rhetoric (Schaer, Claeys, Sargent, and New York Public Library 46).

In particular, utopians highly hold to the notions of community life. This theory emanates from the law of god that emphasizes love for one another based on the love of oneself. From Mores perspective, utopian Europeans at the time valued their neighbors work and fruits of their labor. They believed in sharing work as visitors who would spend many days in a particular visit find it ideally appealing to partake in the activities of the people in that particular country. On the basis of loving your neighbor as yourself, utopians firmly believe in personal hygiene and all means used to keep the body fit and healthy. Personal attention to individual activity, mental state and physical predisposition to function in the intent of God is a primary concern of utopians. In the philosophy of Saint Thomas More, believers in this school of thought take bodily involvement in rewarding activity scores more in their practices as opposed to just staying idle. The idealist world of Thomas More believed in the virtue of love based on Gods laws to the latter. Any form of intimacy before marriage definitely led to chastisement. Since utopianism forbade polygamy and made it very difficult to obtain a divorce, marriage took centre stage as the most important form of reward or punishment as the interplay between love and respect could only find relevance in the union of two mutually related persons in the institution of marriage (More II 46).

Thomas Jefferson echoed the utopians value for freedom and equality. In the view of Jeffersons utopian ideology, all people are equal in the eyes of God. Deriving from the premise of equal creation, Jefferson maintained that people assume rights inherent in them that condition them to pursue happiness and freedom. This confirms the utopians willingness to serve their fellow community members. In essence, this practice inculcated the art of humanity in the utopian world and increased their degrees of freedom to challenge tyrants as Saint Thomas More used animations to attack totalitarian corrupt leadership of London in the time. Mores conviction about the plight of Slaves and tyrants follows his utopian beliefs that from creation, God empowered both male and female equally and wanted every person to exercise their own freedom.

With their earnest belief in God, Utopians persistently embattled authorities that did not conform to the requirement of Gods laws because these laws formed the foundation of their very existence. Similarly, the claims of Thomas Jefferson at independence declaration portrayed his belief in a utopian system. In his address to the Virginia delegation to the continental congress, Jefferson maintained sincerity and composure while working at his discretion to put down his oratory speeches that scored the confidence of his fellow statesmen (Bleich 12).

In the American struggle for independence that saw it come to the day of independence, Thomas Jefferson had in his belief, a utopian ideology that human freedom and the respect for humanity formed the core of peoples existence (United States, Jefferson and Fink 23). This led to his endless attempts to abolish slavery in the American continent (Jayne xii). Through his devotion Jefferson did a lot of work in shaping the ideologies on which the current American civilization is based. Though Jefferson was passive in his attempts to stop slavery in America, one must admit that he made unrecognized efforts in terms of legislative changes that saw the elimination of slavery. This is reflected in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. In his work, Jefferson states that, The colonists have the right to rebel against the British government and establish their own government based on the premise that all men are created equal and have the inalienable right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Jayne 176; United States et al 23). The rebellion/ abolition would come from the government/authority in power trying to alter these rights (life, liberty and, pursuit of happiness) (United States et al 23). Moreover, it was Jeffersons efforts that inspired the Northwest Ordinance that permanently wiped out slavery from the American continent (Jayne xii). Jeffersons activities show that it is possible for an individual to change the world around him/her for the better and contribute positively to the lives of the whole population. While Jefferson believed in utopia that could come through armed struggle, Mores belief in utopia led him to a firm belief in Gods role in giving human freedom and as the solitary head of the church. In the event that he refused to accept the King as the head of the church, the King beheaded him to prove his wrath to those who defy him but this did not end the imaginary world of utopians. Throughout his work, this incident marks the antidote of all dystopia in the book (Wells 25).

We as individuals have the capability to contribute much on the welfare of others rather than just our own self welfare. To start with, we can develop positive attitudes, which are contagious. In other words, the attitudes about life that we hold can be transmitted to other people so that we may change their perception about certain aspects of life. Attitudes do make major differences in life. Positive attitudes will contribute immensely to the welfare of the human life and existence. In the context of utopia, happiness is an attitude. In the pursuit of happiness and positive living we as individuals can impact positively in other peoples lives by transmitting positive attitudes towards healthy and happy living for the welfare of all people in our society. This way we will not only have made ourselves benefit from positive thinking and approach to life, but also help other people in their pursuit of happiness. For example, today we are talking of healthy eating so as to check on our weight, cholesterol levels and, avoidance of related diseases like diabetes. Positive attitudes are very vital in the realization of the ultimate goal, healthy living. We as individuals can help many others in the society on healthy eating and regular exercising and inculcate these attitudes to all people in the society top realize happiness and positive living and coexistence in life.

Conclusion

More used his talent just as Jefferson to portray their innermost desire to see a perfect world where people live according to some higher standards. Thomas Mores visualization of a world where people preserved nature and lived harmoniously with one another according to Gods law earned him the canonization of a Saint after his death. His achievements in academia, social and political career and the imagination of a Utopian world forever remain a motivation to many people who envy him for his socio-economic contributions. As individuals we can also contribute to the welfare of other people through changing their attitudes to embrace positive attitudes towards life in the pursuit of happiness. Through positivity in facing life and in our daily living we inculcate a culture of happiness and healthy living which will ultimately contribute to the welfare of humanity in all aspects of life.

Works Cited

1. Bleich, David. Utopia: the psychology of cultural fantasy. Michigan: University of Michigan Institute research Press. 1984. Print.
2. Jayne, Allen. Jeffersons declaration of independence: origins, philosophy, and theology. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2000. Print.
3. Moore, Sir Thomas. Utopia. New York: NuVision Publication, LLC. 2007. Print.
4. More, Sir Thomas (Saint). Robinson, Ralph and Sacks, David (ed.) Utopia: The Bedford series in history and culture. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. 1999. Print.
5. More, Thomas, Sir Saint and Lupton J. H. The utopian of Sir Thomas more. London, UK: Bibliobazaar, LLC. 2009. Print.
6. More, Thomas. Utopia. London, UK: Adamant Media Corporations. 2005.
7. Schaer, Roland, Claeys Gregory, Sargent Lyman and New York Public Library. Utopia: the Search for ideal society in the western World. New York: Oxford University Press. 2000. Print.
8. Thomas, Marie-Anne and Booker, Keith. The science fiction handbook. Malden, MA: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Print.
9. United States, Thomas Jefferson and Sam Finch. The Declaration of Independence. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2002. Print.
10. Wells, H. G. A modern utopia. London, UK: First world library, 2006. Print.

The main purpose of this paper is to understand the basic concept behind a utopian society. It shows how assumptions are made in order for such a society to thrive. Additionally, it explores the weaknesses, which may arise due to the ideologies attributed to utopia.

Utopia is a term used to depict a community or a society that exudes a perfect communal, opinionated and legal system. Utopia is a Greek word that was conjured by Sir Thomas More to explain an invented island in the Atlantic Ocean in his 1516 book titled Utopia. He derived this name from two Greek words; Eutopia, which describes a good place and Outopia, which describes a non-existence, place (More and Bacon 87).

Therefore, the term alludes to a double meaning; good place and no place. The use of these words further shows us that such a society is not achievable. He intentionally wanted to explore the irony such a word would create in his novel, Utopia. Utopia depicts an ideal society where the opinionated, communal and financial structures are perfect.

The initial utopian suggestion was that of the republic as stated by Plato. It suggests a categorization of citizens into a strict class structure of golden, silver, bronze and iron socioeconomic classes (More and Bacon 87). The golden citizens are a group of individuals that have undergone a fifty-year-old education program like oligarchs. These oligarchs are the philosopher kings. These rulers focus on reducing deficiency and distributing resources within their territories.

In these republics, the citizens are ready to defend themselves from any external military invasion and compete for resources in any strategies probable including the utilization of forces. They focussed on a society that would not look for reasons to engage in wars. These republics have very few laws; furthermore, they lacked evidence of the existence of lawyers, and barely take its citizens to war. Most of these republics employed the services of mercenaries to counter any war (Rowlands).

These republics tolerate the various religious diversities present in their republics. People could employ their religious ideologies without inequity; furthermore, no religion was favoured. There also viewed a society with diminished territorial boundaries thus the entire world would become a society with one just and sincere ruler. Some scholars have decided to use this concept as an ideal blueprint through which republics should be governed.

Ecological utopian describes the various ways through which people can relate peacefully with the environment. It opposes the modern way of living that encourages the destruction of nature thus encouraging the traditional way of living that was in harmony with nature. Most of them focussed on the Stone Age period where man and nature were in perfect harmony. Furthermore, each one of them was dependent to enhance existence and survival.

Economical utopian describes a situation whereby the financial system and the marketplace are in a state that favours all participants. These societies addressed the atrocities caused by the capitalist societies. In capitalist societies, individuals worked for the rulers, sometimes it even involved hard and strenuous work in unfavourable working conditions to the benefit of the rulers.

Everything had a monetary value on it and the market always favoured the selfish interests of these rulers. Some of the recommendations included the abolishment of money as an intermediate of substitution, equal allocation of merchandise and services, the ability of people to do work that they enjoyed. This should be for the mutual good of the society thus shunning the individual selfish interest of the rulers (Engels 36).

This theory sees gender as a creation of the society. It foresees a society whereby gender neutrality will be tenable and that social responsibilities are not subject to the gender of an individual. With this gender notion in mind, it is noteworthy that two types of scholars proposed how a gender free society ought to be. They were the feminist and the masculine scholars.

Most feminist writers were advocating an all female society where the male species would be eradicated either by introduction of diseases that only targeted the male or by technology that did not favour the male species. These scholars were reacting to a period whereby females were submissive to the male. Their mannish counterparts focussed on a society with one sex that is all the sexes responsive thus conjured as one; furthermore, there is no discrimination whatsoever based on the gender of an individual (More and Bacon 87).

By illustrating how societies would turn out when individuals strictly follow the socialist ethic, utopian socialism has three possible effects. First, it inspires the oppressed to fight thus attaining a better future. Secondly, it clearly gives the true meaning of the facets of socialism as evident in its support for livelihoods.

The problem with this theory is that the scholars did not provide a clear path for the implementation of the ideologies. It only left the reasoning of the scholars and subsequently those of the society to guide the implementation of the theory.

Works Cited

Engels, Friedrich. Socialism: Utopian and Scientific. New York, NY: Mondial, 2006. Print.

More, Neville. & Bacon, Francis. Three Early Utopias: Utopia, New Atlantis and the Isle of Pines. New York, Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.

Rowlands, Joseph. Utopianism. Rebirth of Reason. ND. Web.

Scholars and thinkers of repute in the fields of philosophy, political science, and history during the ancient, classical, and contemporary epochs of learning have put forward theories that attempt to explain the origins, necessity, and functions of the state. Some have supported the need to have an absolute sovereign government or state that serves as a custodian of peoples power while others have argued in support of anarchy or a minimal state like Robert Nozick in his 1974 masterpiece titled Anarchy, State and Utopia. They have also theorized on various aspects of society like justice, legitimacy, human rights among others. This task is a summary of Robert Nozicks chapter seven in the above-mentioned book.

Robert Nozicks Idea of State

The state and its legitimacy are one of the main themes in Robert Nozicks book. According to Valentyne, Nozick holds that it is not possible to have a legitimate state especially one that enjoys absolute legitimacy (86). Therefore, Nozick proposes the replacement of the present state with a minimal state which safeguards people only against violence, theft, fraud, and violation of contract Valentyne (86). Nozicks sense of state is that of a coercive organization that for a given territory has effectual domination on the use of weapons to enforce its will and interests Valentyne (87).

Robert Nozicks Critique of Rawls Distributive Justice

In chapter seven Nozick provides an articulate critique upon Rawls theory of distributive justice (150). Distributive justice deals with fair allocation of resources on the basis of ethical and moral principles of the society (275). It proposes the allocation of opportunities and wealth on the basis of merits and moral obligations. So that in the long run, each member of the society gets what is entitled to him or her Rawl (275).

Valentyne argues that Nozick holds a libertarian theory of justice as opposed to Rawls distributive theory of justice (88).Despite his deviation from Rawls distributive theory of justice; Nozick believes that sound adult humans have certain undeniable rights including a right to bodily honor which makes illegal murdering, persecuting, or hurting the holder of the right Valentyne (88).

Nozicks theory of justice holds that an action is just if it does not violate other peoples libertarian rights. The libertarian rights according to Nozick are original absolute self-ownership, rights of a common use of the external world, rights of primary acquisition. While on the one hand, Rawl understands justice based on distributive shares based on moral obligations, Nozick proposes a theory of justice based on libertarian rights enumerated above. For him, an action is just if it doesnt violate anothers libertarian rights as opposed to Rawls theory of justice which is based on merits and moral obligations in determining what an individual is entitled to and what is fair in eyes of the ordinary man in the street.

According to Nozick the role of the minimal state is limited to safeguarding the libertarian rights of the individual citizens against theft, torture, and maiming. Otherwise, the individuals will still retain some right of self-defending their libertarian rights. However, it is important to note that Nozick holds to the fundamental principles despite his dismissal of Rawls distributive theory.

Works Cited

Nozick, Robert. Anarchy, state, and utopia. New York: University of Michigan, 2010.Print.

Rawls, John. A theory of justice. London: Harvard University Press, 1999.Print.

Vallentyne, Peter. The Twentieth Century: Quine and After. Central Works of Philosophy. Vol. 5, 2006, 86-103.

Introduction

The concept of utopia has drawn a lot of debates concerning what it entails and what it does not entail. The term utopia refers to the state of predicting a bright future and presenting issues ass best as they can be.

The state of utopia brings forth hope, and big expectations even where there are few expectations. However, there are many phases of utopia, social, political and theoretical. The presentation of utopia by Benedict Anderson has brought a lot of criticism.

This paper aims at bringing out the theoretical issues of utopia in relations to Anderson. The main discussion question is, is utopia politics related to nationalism and community?

Disproportional society

In a state of utopia, all the persons are made to believe that the future is promising. And as put out in the introduction, there are no benefits of doubt that are given to the systems in place or even to the visions that are there.

This puts the while community at disproportion should an unprecedented event or change to the laid down structures occur. The community believes in perfect religion, community, nation, and governance.

The ability to focus on the incurrence of events that may lead to negativity is alienated in utopia thus the community is not balanced in its gauging of the future (Chatterjee, 4).

The saving tradition

The argument in utopia discourages the saving tradition. The main purpose why the people save is to safeguard the future.

When there is no danger in the future the persons in a community are made to believe that the whole system is in operation and thus they do not save. This puts the coming generations at the risk of not benefiting fully form the structures as there is no good foundation is made for them.

The future generations in a utopia, as Anderson puts it, shall start from the scratches that their fore fathers started at. The ability of the community to transform the future generation is laid on the ability to save.

The ability to save is in most occasions motivated by the fact that there are probabilities that the future may not present all that is there to be presented. Thus the people are determined to have a portion that will cover them from the inaccuracies (Chatterjee, 3).

Security

Benedict Anderson shows the state of utopia as the leading stumbling block to the development of the people. The scenario has lead many communities in believing that there are no security issues in their lands.

The fact that the country is safe today is not an assurance that the country will be safe tomorrow. This then is the probability that the countries should look at. The isolation of the issue of security leads to the colonialism in most of the countries in the eightieth century. This case should not be repeated.

The issue of security has now intensified from those age a as the current generation experiences pirates hijacking ships in majors seas and also mega corruptions, human trafficking and even terrorism.

While Anderson does not advocate for dystopia, the opposite of utopia, he encourages the governments to be wary of any internal and even external dealing that may lead to the fall of the country.

The citizens of any country should be encouraged to address all the issues with a benefit of doubt yet not being pessimistic at the same time.

The fall of great cities has been blamed on dystopia. In fact most of the government overturning that have been in the Arab speaking countries in the twenty first century has been the dystopian results of the society.

The unity of many people has been on many angles one of them are the cases of racism, nepotism and tribalism. The above have for a long time been considered as vices and they still are.

However, many communities world wide have continued either directly or indirectly to be involve in them. According to Anderson, the communities should change their perception of others.

The thinking that the only probability of fortune can come form one community is opportunistic and thus anything that may happen against that thinking will be detrimental to the community that basis its theories on the utopia (Chatterjee, 6).

Criticism

The stand by Benedict Anderson has been criticized from many corners. To start with, Anderson has been criticized of using the platform of advocating for the future and taken that chance to advocate for the position of his political party in Costa Rica.

The critics argue that, Anderson is sly when he calls for the people to change their mentality as he uses that chance to drum up support for his party. The ability of any theorist to alienate his personal stand and political stand from philosophy is usually looked at as the strength of the theorist that he presents (Chatterjee, 7).

Conclusion

Though it has been criticized by many people, the Andersons theory of utopia is arguably one of the best works that tackle major issues that have lead to the down fall of many communities and the nations.

The theory should thus not be ignored but rather be implemented with exemptions of the parts that any community or institutions may feel are not at the benefit of the members thereof.

From the above discussion, it is evident that utopia politics are deeply rooted in nationalism and community as all the issues contained affect the nation and the community as a whole.

Works Cited

Chatterjee Partha. Andersons Utopia, diacritics. New York: The Johns Hopkins University Press. (1999)

The desire to create an improved society seems to be one of the most prominent in philosophy. Thomas More, a social philosopher, envisioned a perfect world in his most celebrated work, Utopia, which shaped philosophical discourse for centuries. Although fundamental, the book was not the first of its type  fantasizing about a better life is a significant part of human existence. For instance, long before More, Plato described an ideal society in Republic (Sharpe, 2019). Nonetheless, Mores vision and the name that he gave to the phenomenon contributed immensely to the idea of an idealized world and shaped modern philosophical tendencies.

The original meaning of the word utopia accentuates the elusive nature of the notion. The word coined to signify a community with a flawless government can be translated from Greek as no place, a place that does not or cannot exist (Hodgkinson, 2016). The modern meaning of utopia in many aspects coincides with Greek translation. Although the word seems to be chiefly used to mean a perfect state or a place and not necessarily from a political standpoint, its connotative meaning entails a sense of infeasibility or impracticability. From a political perspective, the word becomes utilized to speak of an unrealizable state, such as communism. Therefore, the meaning of utopia did not change to a tangible extent, as the modern meaning aligns with the one that More assigned to it.

Utopia could be closely related to the philosophical school of utilitarianism. The utopian idea of moral and political right and wrong can be thought of as utilitarian, meant to maximize individual and societal well-being. Mores Utopian society has several characteristics that are utilitarian: for instance, the book shows that a criminal justice system should be rather rehabilitative than punitive. It is stated that instead of inflicting these horrible punishments, it would be far more to the point to provide everyone with some means of livelihood (More, 2001, p. 44). Hence, based on Mores Utopia, primarily punitive systems are politically wrong, whereas those that prefer rehabilitation are favored. The notion that to improve society, offenders should be rehabilitated rather than punished is utilitarian in nature.

Technological progress could change the idea that a utopian society is unfeasible. Technological utopianism allocates a fundamental role in scientific advancement in achieving a perfect society, particularly regarding social justice (Clint & Cameron, 2016). Even though technological development prompts alarmism, the benefits that it entails eclipse the polarization in viewpoints. Such innovations as genetic engineering, extensive use of solar energy, and universal access to the Internet could alleviate the colossal divide between countries and social classes (Dyson, 1997). For example, access to the Internet in remote places can enhance their financial situation by enabling businesses and farms and connecting them to the current global economy (Dyson, 1997). Thus, despite the polarization to which it contributes, technology is instrumental in completing an immense objective  mitigating social inequity. The objectives significance helps to overcome the concern regarding polarization.

The society that More described in Utopia served as a blueprint for many political activists and possibly tipped history in the direction of somewhat higher social justice. Although the way the word utopia is used as a shade of unfeasibility, the current technological advancement could change it. Progress in renewable energy research, genetic manipulations, and communication technologies give a reason to think that the society that More envisioned could be not too removed in time.

References

Clint, J., & Cameron, E. (2016). The individual and utopia: A multidisciplinary study of humanity and perfection. Routledge.

Dyson, F. (1997). Technology and social justice[PDF document]. Web.

Hodgkinson, T. (2016). How Utopia shaped the world.BBC Culture. Web.

More, T. (2001). Utopia. (C. H. Miller, Trans.). Yale University Press.

Sharpe, M. (2019). Guide to the classics: Platos Republic.The Conversation. Web.

An imagination of a world of utopia is one thing, amongst others that has always intrigued and struck me. This is because in such a world of imagination, I feel more realistic and scary, with all manner of ideas which encompass my thoughts. Such dystopian thoughts made the writing of the narrative from within and without inescapable, especially when almost all scenes seem intriguing, sometimes horrible.

My imagination of recent trends in globalization acted as an impetus towards writing the dystopian narrative. Being an ardent reader of dystopian narratives, I discovered in the course of research that though the turn of dystopian narratives had already been detected from previous decades of nineteenth century, the nature of dystopian world building has been changing (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13).

This has been attributed to varying changes in terms of politics, society and ideology (Desmet 20). In this regard, the almost Marxist twist which I employed in the narrative depicts the dystopian world in line with the Marxist critical assessment of capitalism that points out the ever decreasing unlimited faith in the power of science (Desmet 16). This was evident in the following extract from the narrative from within and without.

&, this showed images and reflections of everything and everyone. These images were multiplied and reduced ad infinitum to make the intruders uneasy and oppressed when they learnt that the least of their gestures was being monitored. The design was unique as movement or sound echoed were projected from room to room and then to the ultimate professors room and surveillance station.

The professor was a man of highly sophisticated pleasures and not even the well versed prostitutes he employed for a couple of weeks knew the room where he slept. The soldiers on the ground floor had small non-obtrusive black boxes which were pager-size and strapped to their ankles.

Similar units were held dangling on their belts. These were tracking devices which transmitted the location and broadcasted the whereabouts of the wearer to a monitoring and surveillance center through GPS. Snipping off the rubber band on the device or vigorous movement would trigger an alarm&. (Page 3 of the narrative)

The Marxist twist is apparent in the way the lifestyle of the professor is criticized in terms of the lifestyle he leads. In a society that is almost capitalist in nature and laden with all manner of technology, the Professor still ends up being murdered ingeniously.

My research led me to appreciate the role of technological advancements that knowledge accumulation leads to a better world socially and morally (Desmet 7). This revelation was also compounded with the Platonian view I researched which revealed that though globalization has enhanced societal advancement, the resulting scientific and technological advancements have the potential to effectuate mammoth social changes e.g. that pursued by the assassin in the dystopian narrative.

This knowledge helped me to build the dystopian world in the narrative by differentiating the renaissance period and finally the current world. This was in line with the Platonian thinking which showed how scientific advancement could be achieved through understanding of the role of nature from a theoretical point of view (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13).

Therefore, my knowledge of scientific advances over time triggered a paradoxical thought on the future effects of scientific and technological output, especially regarding the manner in which they will be consumed (Kerby par. 1-13). Thinking along this line, I was able to capture effectively the use of advanced technology in the security apparatus of the narrative. This enables the reader to have great optimism regarding the security of Professor Smith.

In a twist of dystopia however, this appears not to be the case as Professor Smith is murdered in cold blood, amidst tight security (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13).

Thus the technological fiction I created in the narrative helped to support the dystopian thought that technology is not only beyond the control of society but man is still largely unconscious of the profound revolution that he is bringing about (Desmet 10). Thus the rising tensions on the pros and cons of adopting scientific technology helped me to shape the plot of the narrative e.g. where the assassin penetrates security even amidst impregnable security apparatus (Desmet 7-30).

Therefore, the knowledge gained, especially emergence of enormous variations in dystopian fiction played a great role for me to build the dystopian world in which the characters in the narrative live (Desmet 7-30). Through research, I was able to appreciate the fact that dystopian narratives depict criticism of the socio-political realities of the age and day when they were written (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13).

In line with this finding, the narrative from within and without vividly depicted the effects of recent trends in globalization, such as state capitalism, the global economy and presence of conflicting interests and ideology (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13). This has been achieved by partial criticism of utopian constructions which disregard depressing realities of the world (Desmet 7-30).

As such, this enabled me to imagine a futuristic world laden with technology and where oppressive control of society and its perfect nature is maintained by characteristic technological control of dystopia (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13). For instance, the kind of control depicted in the narrative is moral, technological and almost totalitarian.

The technological dystopian control depicts the narrative as having dystopian character where societal control mechanisms seem to be dictatorial. In addition, the illusion of a perfect society is achieved and maintained through a dystopian-technological control (Desmet 7-30).

Other characteristics depicted in the dystopian narrative include use of propaganda e.g. by military to exercise societal control, control of information, autonomy and self-governing thought and innate environment comprising citizens is mistrusted (Desmet 7-30). For instance, the assassin is depicted as a dystopian protagonist with features such as feelings of enslavement, great effort for autonomy and disappointment with nations and socio-political systems (Desmet 7-30).

This enabled me to capture the assassin as one character who puts across the mood that something is amiss in the society he lives and therefore pursues a liberating mission through terrorism. In this regard, he assists the audience to recognize the negative aspects of a world that is built on dystopia (Kerby par. 1-13).

Amidst the hostility in the dystopian world I built in the narrative, the assassin pursues recoil, flight and compensatory hope which makes him achieve his mission (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13). Thus he holds up a critical mirror which exposes the negative characteristics and effects and his feelings (highlighted towards the end of the narrative) (Desmet 13). This acts as a necessary precursor towards his pursuance of alternative options e.g. terrorism (Kerby par. 1-13).

The knowledge acquired through research also enabled me to apply successfully the concept of Darwinian evolution to technological entities instead of biological ones by introducing the dystopian perception that rising trends in technology could be perilous to the human race.

This is also in line with Desmet and Kerby who perceived technology as being increasingly being adopted in the 19^th century leading to contradictory perceptions of the dangers alongside benefits of adoption of technology (Desmet 7-30).

From within and without is a satirical dystopian narrative which depicts superficial utopia, at the same time projecting shortcomings of a broken society. Any reader will be technically hard-pressed to say that the kind of world is centered on a gimmick acquired through proper building of dystopia. The kind of security system described in the narrative gives the notion that there is literally no place to hide and no where you will not be watched (Desmet 7-30).

Works Cited

Desmet, Fran. Perspectives on Dystopian Narratives. South Melbourne: Thomson Learning Press, 2010. Print.

Kerby, Anderson. n.d. Terrorism in North America. n.d. Web.

Identify and explain precisely the most important points and arguments Raphael Hythloday presents in Book One and Book Two

Raphael Hythloday in Book Utopia, discusses the probable chance of having an ideal world where societies work for the gain and benefit of each other. According to the scholar, resources and opportunities should be for communities and not private people; the scholar felt that private ownership of property is the main hindrance to the attainment of a utopian world.

Raphael Hythloday, in books one and two was of the view that the government and the state operate within an economy for the benefit of the societies, they are given power and authority to dictate the distribution of resources among communities. The writer feels that the nature of human beings is likely to exploit and accumulate wealth for themselves at the expense of others; the government should be the sole owner of property and people taken as laborers at the same level. The writer argues that if this were the angle taken then the world would be utopian.

A culture of a country determines the value and ideologies they hold; when the government assumes the role of controlling the economy then people are likely to accept the culture and solve differences in culture and social rivalry among them. He noted the role that domestic laws play in creating an equal society in legislative matters; he observes that the breakthrough got us only possible since the government has taken the ownership of constitutional power. The approach with law gives him the arguing point of why the same cannot be implemented across the board.

According to Raphael Hythloday, the government should take the central role of activities in their countries; the underlying ideology is the distribution of wealth. They aim at having equal distribution of wealth and do not recognize individual wealth accumulation. From this angle, it is a good approach aimed at ensuring that the national cake is shared among the entire population. There are no classes and the government is seen to choose the direction that the masses will go.

Sometimes, and it has happened most often, the actors in the government make some decisions for their interests. They may look at the interest of a few at the expense of the masses. Production is seen as not geared to profit-making and thus the adopted methods of production are in most cases, not the most efficient. The inefficiency limits the level of economy in the country; in this era of limited resources, these systems are not good for a country more so in the developing and less developed countries. They are meant to encourage a vicious cycle of poverty (More and Clarence 1-3)

Explain in detail why you agree with Hythloday or side with Thomas More

Thomas More has criticized the concerns brought about by Raphael Hythloday; he thinks that the world cannot attain utopianism with centralized control of resources. Thomas More supports the idea of a capitalist system of governance. The system does not limit the citizens to the amount of wealth that they can accumulate and gives them a level playing ground for wealth creation. Business in all sectors of the economy is enhanced; however, the economy creates a high competition in resources as people seek to win the limited resources, the result is some people gaining at the expense of others.

As much as the system by Thomas More can be seen in, some economies like China and the United States, some vices are seen to be associated with the system; the system encourages selfishness that results in corruption, secondly, the distribution of wealth is not uniform and the economy can favor small groups. Class (that is measured by how much one has) influences major decisions in these countries. It is common to get a large part of the population poor and resources centered on a small group.

Raphael Hythlodays approach to the attainment of a utopian society is sound with a limited population growth rate and countries that have abundant resources, however the situation on the ground is different, resources are limited and need to be optimally utilized; this cannot be possible with Raphael Hythloday approach.

In 2011, if it were possible, would you base a society on Utopian ideals? Yes? No?

If it was possible to have a utopian world, then the world will be a better place to live in, people would be able to respect and value others despite their minor differences. Some international and national rivalries have been blamed on differences in power and resource distribution; with a utopian world, then such rivalries would be unheard of.

Some dangers can arise with a utopian economy; the system of production works with landowners and laborers, when utopianism has been attained, then the world would suffer from a lack of laborers and when available, the wage rate would be high. This leads to under and inefficient exploitation of natural resources; when resources are not effectively utilized, then the world will suffer a lack of essential comedies and deterioration of living standards (More and Clarence 23).

In my view, modern economies should have a hybrid governance system where the government intervenes in its countrys economic management but allows the private sector to drive the economy. The government should intervene to facilitate an appropriate economic growth rate and protect citizens from violation of their constitutional rights. Before making an investment decision, the government should consider the economic, political, social, global, and environmental implications of such a decision.

Works Cited

More, Thomas, and Clarence Miller. Utopia. New York: Yale Univ. Press, 2001. Print.

The utopia in addition to its derivative, the dystopia, is types of literature that explore both social and political configurations. Utopian literature explores or tackles the aspects of creating ideal humanity, or utopia as the general setting of the narrative. Dystopian is the contrary: invention or creation of a atrocious civilization, or dystopia.

Typically, most novels mix the two, commonly as a metaphor for the diverse directions the society can take in its preferences, ending with either one of the two likely futures. Both types are characteristically utilized in science narrative plus other exploratory genres, and are almost certainly by explanation a series of speculative fiction.

Young adult utopian fiction is often characterized by dictatorial regimes that subject their citizens to inhuman treatment. Other common themes include, separate authorities in competition for power and wealth, a religious significance attached to leaders, a protagonist who gets enlightened a starts an uprising and a lower class that are usually looked down upon.

Other common themes in utopian literature are degradation of one sex by the other and reduced personal contact between people usually due to technological advances (Bleiler 88).

Both genres try to extrapolate the direction of human life by predicting future. By painting horrible and disturbing scenes in dystopian literature, authors try to scare readers from certain practices and lifestyles. Such literature serve as warnings by helping humans to imagine the worst possible futures usually characterized by uninhabitable environment, despotic governments, wars and overpopulation.

On the other hand utopian literature tries to restore human hope by painting brighter future where there is abundance of peace and goodwill. The main purpose of utopian literature is to provide an escape from the real world which is probably why it popular with the youth and depressed persons. While the utopian world is too god to be true, the dystopian world is too scaring to be true (Nikolajeva 44).

In ideal cases, a piece of literature has a utopian setting with a few flaws that give it a dystopian twist. Authors and artists may use dystopia to criticize real life characters. Despotic regimes usually fall victim to this tactic to its metaphoric nature which ensures that authors can not be accused of sedition.

A common theme in dystopian literature is a scenario where the characters wish they could reverse time to the present day. This encourages the readers to be satisfied with the present life.

Several factors determine the audience of utopian literature as with all other types. Novels meant for teenagers such as The Harry Porter Series are characterized by easy language, hard-to-forget characters, fast plots and a theme of the young coming into a perfect o conflict with the older generation.

Such literature is meant to encourage the young to take control of the direction they want their life to take without over relying on their parents. While such sentiments may be mistranslated as an excuse for recklessness and rebellion it does not happen often since most youths are able to draw a line between the utopian and the real world

Utopian literature often begins with a political, social or economic revolution or a war that drastically changes the way people live and forces them to adapt to new, often extreme conditions. Dystopian literature often features advanced technology and less individual freedoms. People in dystopia depend on technology to run their lives.

Utopian literature has often been criticized for using obscene and immoral language and demoting family values. Other critics say that it opens the youths minds and encourages them to make independent and informed opinions on situations they might later face in life. A horde of other reasons has often been used to ban or censor utopian literature.

The reasons include claims that such books contain anti-establishmentarian ideas, violent scenes, sexually explicit language and morally decadent ideas such infanticide and drug abuse. The advantages of letting young people read utopian literature far outweigh the disadvantages since it is obvious the young people can not be protected from the harsh realities of the real world forever.

Young adults are often anxious about the future and understandably so. Shielding them from getting a glimpse of what a future world might look like denies them an invaluable right to information.

The argument that reading utopian and dystopian literature has a detrimental effect on their impressionable minds does not hold any water either. Youngsters come across more potentially harmful ideas through real life, television and computer games in their day to day lives.

It has been severally proved that censorship fuels curiosity and a sense of dissatisfaction and rebellion that is far worse that any utopian ideas that a young person could acquire. It therefore beats the purpose to blacklist ban or censor books simply because they contain extremist ideas. Its also worth noting that not all utopian/dystopian literature has political overtones as it is widely believed.

Utopian literature acts a perfect platform for tackling contemporary issues such as human cloning, nuclear weapons and global warming. In her novel The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer attempts to tackle the controversial topic of human cloning. The main character, Matt Alacran is a human clone that has to put with being treated as a pet or an object of fascination.

He feels compelled to live up to the expectations of his creators. Throughout the plot the writer takes the reader through a journey of self-discovery as Matt tries to figure out his role in the world (Farmer 44). The author uses several utopian and dystopian which are reminiscent of present day ghettoes, industrial and rural areas.

In the book, farmer uses extremes to help the reader imagine what the three settings would look, smell or feel like in the future. She describes eejit pens where the societys workers live (Patai 88). Through Matt she describes the smells as horrible. These conditions are not unknown to the present world where the workers who are the economys backbones live in deplorable conditions.

The author latter describes the city of Aztlan which looks like what todays developed cities would look like in the future. The city is a jumble of factories skyscrapers, roadways that wind up to the tops of buildings and a sea of hovercrafts. The contrast between the settings helps to spice up the plot.

The book is a perfect example of what good utopian book should entail a futuristic plot and imaginary characters that represent the present day society.

The main character, Matt, is depicted is as human clone who is torn between the human and animal identities. He longs for a normal human life but feels like a copy of someone whom he barely knows. He has human feelings but keeps being reminded of his animal nature as he was born of a cow.

His human side becomes especially evident when he becomes jealous when his girlfriend, Maria is snatched from him by another boy. The book explores other moral issues such as greed, obsessive ambition, human freedom, and the dangers and comforts that could result from technological advancement. The characters, through their sometimes bizarre actions provoke critical thought on human nature.

The books popularity among young adults could be explained by the fact the storys main character struggles with his self image a struggle that most youths go through. The book effectively stimulates debatable opinions on the social, political, ethical and scientific issues.

Similar themes are featured in Katherine Burdekins, Swastika Night. The author creates a Nazist regime that alienates Christians and women and exterminates all Jews. Surprisingly the author started writing the book in 1930s when the Nazis anti-Semitic ideas were only evident from Hitlers Mein Krampf. The books prophecy later came to near fulfillment in what is now known as the Holocaust.

The Nazi regime allegedly killed six million Jews in concentration camps during the Second World War. This demonstrates that predictions made in utopian fiction are not as far fetched as they are often dismissed as. Perhaps it is this realization that drives authoritarian regimes and the older generation into censoring and banning utopian fiction.

The book is set seven hundred years after the twenty years war a metaphorical reference to the Second World War. At this time the Nazis rule supreme with a little competition from the Japanese with whom they share the worlds power. Hitler was adored and given a god-like status.

He has statues and portraits which depict him having a Zeus-like physique, complete with a towering frame and blonde hair. Demoralized in addition to being made to feel insignificant. Their sole function in life is reproduction and women who cant play that primary role to perfection are considered worthless (Hintz,et al 141).

The author portrays the Nazis as homosexual misogynists who prefer boys to women for sexual pleasure. Women are locked in miserable breeding camps where their heads are shaved clean. The main protagonist, Alfred is a British national on a tour in Germany where he finds out about the origins of Nazi ideology from his German host.

He is surprised to see old photos of Hitler depicting him as a short, slightly potbellied fellow with dark hair. This shatters his belief in the sanctity of Nazism. He starts to see it as an extremist but fallible movement that has lasted beyond its time. He realizes that Hitler himself had a female companion whom he finds very attractive.

After reading a book given to him by his German host he starts reasoning. I am a man who understands that while armed insurgence against Germany must be unsuccessful, there is another insurgence that must be successful& The rebellion of incredulity (pg 6). Your domain is placed together on the mentality side of it by Hitlerism.

If that happens to go, if the citizens no longer trust Hitler is supernatural being, you have nobody left but the military men. And the only thing that can do is but kill people. You can not make the people to re-trust if they do not want to.

And in the very end, no matter how many citizens you kill, so long as there are a number of them to persist, the uncertainty will continue to grow. And you cant ever kill all the unbelievers, because, though you can search a mans pockets or his house, you cant search his mind 1937.

The similarity of Hitlers cult as displayed in the book to Christianity as we know it is hard to miss. The belief that he was born of thunder and he shall return when the last heathen man is converted is undebatably comparable to Christs second coming.

And I believe that when all things are accomplished and when the last heathen man is enlisted in His Holly Army, that Adolf Hitler will come again in his martial glory to the sound of guns and aeroplanes, to the sound of trumpets and drums  (pg 6).

Such sentiments and thinly veiled comparisons to established religions are often enough to scare parents, religious leaders and government into banning utopian literature. Some may argue that it encourages the youth to rebel from religion and even imply that the devil himself is behind the inspiration of the authors.

What the older generation seems not to understand is that it gives the youth a chances to consolidate their opinions and beliefs by doubting them. Its hard to ignore the feminist theme explored in the book.

The author seeks to exaggerate the masculine-supremacy rhetoric of the Nazis, perhaps in an attempt to draw attention to the patriarchal nature of the society at that time. She writes of fundamental immutable laws of the Hitler Society which in part stated

As a woman is above a worm

So is a man above a woman

As a woman is above a worm

So is a worm above a Christian (Burdekin7)

This also brought to light Hitlers anti-Christian sentiments. The men in the book are displayed as lazy and authoritarian. When women attend their regular brainwashing sessions they are required to stay as their rumps would defile the temple of the most High Hitler.

They are encouraged to despise to despise Christian and are remind that its punishable to even imagine of coming into contact with them. A role reversal is displayed in boys being encouraged to keep long hair while women are required to be close shaved. Homosexuality is rampant and boys are treated as objects of desire. The role of boys of boys in Hitler is disturbingly similar to the altar boys in Roman Catholic worship.

The theme of education comes in connected with that of religion. Books that do not preach Hitler supremacy are banned and the SS is charged with the role of persecuting anyone who professes to anything but the Hitler Supremacy faith. This is meant to draw attention to the dangers of entrusting education to one entity such as the government.

The Hitler Worshipers lock women up only allowing them to venture out for brain washing sessions. The culture of banning controversial literature comes under criticism as the Nazi regime does anything possible to ensure that historical literature is destroyed.

It is fascinating how such a regime is threatened by a mere picture or a book. The book ends with Alfred being killed by the SS after it comes to their knowledge that he has discovered the truth.

The book ends with a theme of hope as Alfred passes on the secret to his son before his death. He hopes that the truth will spread and would one day lead to a revolution. The book successfully displays a regime built on nothing but lies and propaganda.

Burdenkin seems to be in favor of separation of the church, the government and the education system arguing that entrusting to one entity is tantamount to brainwashing. This book like other dystopian literature ends with the establishment prevailing over the rebel.

Jean DuPraus Ember series is another fine example of utopian literature that explores human flaws in an imaginary setting. The first book in the series is set in an underground city that was built by engineers to ensure the survival of the human should any happen on the surface. The city is supposedly self-contained as it is stocked with all the necessary resources and the power from an inbuilt generator.

The citys builders are aware that the city can not sustain itself for more than 200 hundred years. They reason that this is a relatively safe period after which the residents can venture out to check on the humans above the surface. To ensure the eventual departure from the city, the engineers leave a list of encoded instructions in a box that is designed to open after 200 years.

The box is entrusted in the Mayors care and a tradition of passing it from one Mayor to the next is established. The box is passed in accordance to the culture but apparently the knowledge of its significance is not. One Mayor removes it from its rightful place and attempts to open it forty seven years before the designated time.

The Mayors attempt is unsuccessful and he unfortunately dies before returning the box to its nook. The box is somehow forgotten and the writer fast forwards the plot to 247 years after the opening of the city.

The resources are running out and the generators condition is deteriorating as it has outlived its designed lifetime. The city is plagued by frequent blackouts tht last longer each time. The city depends on generator for lighting that is especially important since the city relies on artificial light to run its greenhouses. The produce from the greenhouses supplemented with canned foods make up the residents diet. The canned food supply starts running out which raises the anxiety and desperation of the people.

During one of the graduation ceremonies at the city , two graduates are assigned roles they are dissatisfied with. Lina is made a Pipeworks Labourer while another graduate named Doon is made a Messenger.

The two agree to exchange their professions. Lina accidentally discovers the lost Mayors metal box which has already automatically unlocked as it was set to do in the 200^th year. She is however unable to decipher the message since part of it has been destroyed.

She seeks Doons help and they gradually realize the paper contains instructions on how to leave the city. They resolve to follow the clues and leave the city but they have to use wit to do it without the knowledge of the people in power.

In the course of their journey they realize that the Mayor had been hording possessions and supplies while the rest of the citys residents suffered from depravation. Their attempt to go public with the discovery puts them at loggerheads with the Mayor and his officials. They become fugitives as Poppy, Linas younger sister joins them in the expedition. They eventually reach the earths surface where they see the sky for the first time.

Perhaps too enchanted by the marvels of the world above the trio does not go back to the city. They however, tie the instructions to a rock and drop it back to the city where it is luckily discovered by Doons father.

The books title The City of Ember is most appropriate as it creates an image of a fire that is dying out. This is a metaphorical reference to the citys unstable generator which flickers on and off like an ember. The main characters, Lina and Doon are teenagers who are dedicated to find a solution to the problems facing their city. This reinforces the books position as a young adult utopian fiction.

The author explores the theme of hope as the two relentlessly pursue their quest of finding a better future for their city. They are faced with numerous challenges as they expose the cities corrupt leadership. They are wanted by the citys police which leaves them with no option but to find their way out of the city.

They have to negotiate a steep terrain in order to reach the world above which is made no easier by the presence of Linas toddler sister Poppy. Despite their youth, the two take practical steps to better their world.

Linas decision to take her younger sister along shows a sense of responsibility that is not common among teenagers of her age. The author may have meant to inspire todays to take more responsibility in the world around and their families.

In the course of their journey to the world above the two discover that their parents had unsuccessfully embarked on a similar (Reber 28). Fate and destiny seems to have brought them back together which encourages them not to relent. They also wonder how the instructions ended up in their hands and not the hands of a mayor as the builders of the city had intended.

The fragility and unpredictability of human plans comes to attention. The very idea of the city itself and the survival of its residents depend on the contents of the box which are so mishandled to the point of being chewed by Poppy.

The author also criticizes the act of passing down of meaningless culture and rituals. The reason behind every culture or legacy should be well understood to those are expected to carry it forward.

The consequences of entrusting people with a culture that they dont understand are displayed by the mayors carelessness when handling the box. Had the mayor understood its significance he would not have misplaced it which would have saved the people of the town a lot of unnecessary miserly.

Human greed and folly is evident in the current Mayor who stacks up light bulbs and supplies for himself. The mayor who is supposed to be a servant of the people is too selfish to notice that the bulbs will be useless when the generator finally collapses. Like all the greedy leaders he tries to use the police to silence Lina and Doon when they uncover his selfish scheme (DuPrau 26).

The plot shows the dangers faced by a people who are not adequately aware of their history as they can not predict their future. The people of the city believe that the builders built the city from nothing. They live in absolute ignorance of the world above them and therefore subject themselves to unnecessary suffering (Crossley 200).

The dangers of ignorance come to light as Lina, Doon and Poppy emerge from their world at night. They become very disappointed thinking that the generator of this world is exhausted too. However they still find the open sky and fresh air very appealing. There are overjoyed in the morning when the sun comes up reinforcing the theme of hope.

The three books show just why it makes no sense to ban utopian and dystopian literature. Readers who are old enough to understand a metaphor should be allowed to read as many ideas as they can. Parents who impose such limitations to their children limit their exposure to the harsh realities of the world. They deny them a chance of strengthening their opinions by exposing them to extreme hypothetical situations (James 56).

Discussion

Examining the manner the diverse authors have explored the diverse aspects of utopia and dystopia, it would be instrumental to argue that gender issues such as male chauvinism and feminity are given a broader consideration. This can be allied to the fact that the major forces that determine the social ties are linked to the two.

Therefore, the world of utopia as is presented in some of the narratives presents a candid picture of the world. In regard to the scope of science fiction and gender aspects both utopia and dystopia explores deeper elements the gender. This as is presented involves acts of heroism, and is well articulated in the young adult literature so as to make them visualize a society that calls for heroes.

Young adult literature examines diverse and in sometimes conflicting aspects of the society. As is presented in the examined books it is evident that the use of science to reflect on two aspects of the world is instrumental.

Considering the effect of the texture and the tone of the authors of such works as The House of the Scorpion, Swastika Night, The City of Ember the most outstanding features evolves within the axis of scope of creating alliances and forging identifications.

This illustrates why the authors of these books captures the mind of the young adults by exploring hope as well as sexuality which in end dwells on the borders of determining hero and heroine in both context of utopia and dystopia. Therefore, examining the elements of gender the novels engages the young readers to understand the significance of hope, sacrifice and unity in regard to such aspects as masculinity and feminism.

In contrast to adult literature, young adult literature provides dynamic approach to the way the young readers perceive the world. In regard to gender, girls are presented in a more open and resourceful context, While the boys are also competitive. However, in both instances the young readers are introduced to where in both the utopian and dystopian world the little protagonists are able to overcome unique challenges.

Therefore, exploring the dynamics of both utopia and dystopia gender is forged as an instrument of transition where in both cases the young adult is mostly viewed as the utopia in dystopia narrative. And this illustrates why the discussed authors have overcome the elements of hopelessness and generated a scenario where male supremacy or feminism is played out strongly.

Looking at the concept being examined young adult readers experience utopia or dystopia in home. But the radical thing is the essence of gender is illustrated by the way the young readers as well as the authors perceive the context of the aspects with caution. It is therefore apposite to argue that a rhetorical system is employed in the young adult literature.

The significance of exploring gender aspects shows how the authors inject elements of responsibility to both male and female. However, the role and projections of both young boys and girls is presented in simple and involving manner. Perhaps this explains why the elements of the dystopian society are illustrated as acts of restricting the growth of the human civilization.

Therefore, in the explored narratives the works offers thematic conventions which involve detailed and explicit studies. Too, the novels entail decisive pedagogical implications that compel the young readers to grapple with queries of a perfect society or the extreme imperfect communal organizations as well as their definite autonomy.

Both utopia and dystopia literature explores the romanticized elements of gender in young adult novels. The concept is commonly employed to create the key message in both genres.

Equally this approach established dynamic relationship between the young reader and the author. And that is why the greater features employed in exploring gender in the novels rests within using distinct sexuality and personality to seek identity and place in the society.

Works Cited

Bleiler, Everett. The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta,2000

Burdekin, Katharine. Swastika Night. Old Westbury, N.Y.: Feminist Press, 1985

Crossley, Robert. Dystopian Nights. Routledge, 2009.

DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember . New York: Yearling, 2008

Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion . New York: Simon Pulse, 2004

Hintz, Carrie and Elaine Ostry. Utopian and Dystopian . NY: Routledge, 2003.

James, Kathryn. Death, Gender and Sexuality . New York: Routledge, 2009.

Nikolajeva, Maria. Literature for Young Readers. New York: Routledge, 2010.

Patai, Daphne. Foreword.New York: The Feminist Press, 1993

Reber, Lauren L. Dystopian Literature Brigham Young University, 2005

Synopsis

The literature under consideration is a review of the book Utopia authored by the famous Sir Saint Thomas More in which he presents to his audience an illustration of a politically and socially egalitarian culture. In this essay titled Sir Thomas Mores Utopia and the Transformation of England from Absolute Monarchy to Egalitarian Society, authors W. B. Gerard and Eric Sterling study the comparison presented by More in relation to the idealistic Utopian society and the monarchial English society of the then-contemporary Tudor England. They state that although Sir Thomas Mores treatise was based on a fictitious nation named Utopia and the 16^th-century English society under the rule of King Henry VIII, his visionary perceptions are still as significant as they were during his era. Utopia is an unconventional amalgam of genres. It is an illustration of implausible travelogue, philosophical expanse, the satire of the then existent English social order, and most importantly a visualization of an idyllic and egalitarian society. More uses the speech of Raphael Hythlodays in Book I to refer to the tribulations that encompass the English society, and in Book II, he highlights the Utopian culture and put side by side the political beliefs and social commandments of Utopia and that of England.

Is the title clear?

The article under consideration is titled Sir Thomas Mores Utopia and the Transformation of England from Absolute Monarchy to Egalitarian Society. The clarity of the title is quite evident as a reader gets an idea about the forthcoming matter of discussion in the exposition just by looking at the title of the dissertation. The article is based on Sir Saint Thomas Mores famous book Utopia. It deals with the evils of the monarchial rule in 16^th century England under the regime of King Henry VIII and observes the comparison with the idealistic and communal Utopian society brought forth by the author. Thus, the subject of discussion is well represented by the one-liner heading.

What is the research question/thesis?

The matter of observance in this article is Sir Thomas Mores futurist perception of the social issues faced by the people in any existent culture or civilization. His fascinating endeavor to compare the tribulations in the English society with a fictitious nation named Utopia possessing an idealistic, egalitarian culture brings forth his concerns about these issues. The paper under contemplation highlights these concerns by reflecting on the juxtapositions presented in the book it reviews. It also brings out how relevant and reverberant Sir Thomas Mores ideas, perceptions, and thoughts are in even todays contemporary 21^st-century society.

What is the focus? Is the focus clear?

The article titled Sir Thomas Mores Utopia and the Transformation of England from Absolute Monarchy to Egalitarian Society does justice to the name it has adapted. The focus of the paper is primarily on the Utopian political and social framework, which brings out the perfection desired by the affiliates of any society. It contrasts these romantic features of the Utopian social order with the realistic evils and harms of the 16^th century monarchial English society.

The focus of the article becomes clearer to the reader as he proceeds through the article and encounters actual comparisons between the Utopian and English societies. The reader identifies the troubles experienced by the poor of the 16^th century English civilization and understands the idealistic view of the author by referring to the Utopian scheme of things.

Is the line of argumentation clear?

The authors of this article make an effort to bring out the reality, which was experienced by people of the English society under the command of King Henry VIII. The vast social gap between the rich, the poor is evidently brought out by citing examples from Sir Thomas Mores book called Utopia and constructing a well-developed discussion out of them. The realism in the issues discussed is augmented when contrasted with the egalitarian political and social structures of the fictitious Utopia. The level of reasoning presented by the authors of this article as well as that of Sir Thomas More makes the line of argumentation as it brings out the reality methodically.

Are paragraphs coherent, unified, and well developed?

The article is logically ordered and a well-developed dialogue is presented to the user. The authors make a transparent attempt to unify the parts of the discussion to bring out the quintessence of the article. However, I feel that the authors would have done more justice to this particularly well-written article had the introductory paragraph would have been more elucidating. Following is my effort to introduce the article.

Sir Thomas Mores Utopia, fascinating and unconventional literature, is an illustration of implausible travelogue, philosophical expanse, a satire of the then existent English social order, and most importantly a visualization of an idyllic and egalitarian society. More, having the first-hand experience in administrative operations, observed the shortcomings of the society with a keen eye and close proximity. With reference to his vision, this study focuses on the framework applied to the political and social dynamics of the 16^th-century English society in contrast to the fictitious, idealistic, and egalitarian Utopian culture. Utopia represents a standard of idealism against which the realism involved the 16^th century English culture is measured. More utilizes the voice of Raphael Hythloday to deal with the tribulations faced by the English society in Book I while in Book II he concentrates on bringing forth the comparison between the Utopian epitome of idealism and the real political and social philosophy of then-contemporary England. By putting side-by-side Utopian and English cultures, this study reflects on Mores structure. In particular, Mores contemplation of the Utopian scheme of things in terms of economic, political, and international affairs is reflected in this article. The essentiality of Mores visionary insight continues to prevail until this day.

Are sentences linked in an original way?

Technically, the authors have demonstrated excellent skills in their writing style. The link between sentences is plain and obvious. They are logically derived from sources originating in Sir Thomass book Utopia and perfectly analyze the content. However, as is the case with any literary document, it comes up with a few shortcomings, which too are dependent on the person reading the document. In some cases, I found that the links between the sentences could be made much more profound. In some cases after a sentence ends the reader is left guessing. This could have been done away with a few more explanations or else the subject should not have been mentioned. For example, on page 79, the article quotes, Every person (and this includes women as well as men) learns a second trade, besides agriculture (More, 1516/1992, pp. 3637). In fact, the treatment of women in Utopia and in England parallels the treatment of the poor in these societies. Here a disparity is found due to a mention of the second trade. In the following sentence, there is no effort to explain the relevance of the second trade, which confuses the reader to a certain extent.

Are sentences varied in length and complexity?

Sentences throughout most of the treatise are considerably long and the extensive use of punctuations increases the complexity of the sentences to a certain degree. For example, in the following sentence, the overuse of commas and semicolons makes it complex.

The administration of justice is adapted for a host of factors rather than relying on the application of a basic, catch-all definition of a crime; this, in combination with the lack of a potentially tainting precedent, seems to guarantee the most appropriate punishment for each individual crime. (Gerard, 75-89)

Nevertheless, the reader also encounters shorts sentences, which are quite easy to decipher as effortlessly understood. For example, Representational government in Utopia is equally straightforward. Every year a syphogrant is elected by every 30 households. (Gerard, 75-89)

Is the amount of detail sufficient?

The authors demonstrate a good understanding of the literature they review as their analysis provides sufficient amount of detail. For example, in the case of explaining the status of women in the society they explain how the womens involvement in the Utopian workforce increases their status in the society. Why women in English societies are treated as second-class citizen is also explained aptly by referring to other relevant studies and analyzing the context to bring out the essence of the discussion.

How is the article organized? Is it well organized?

The article is extremely well organized. It first introduces the topic, clarifies Mores perception on various issues and then provides its own analysis relating to a certain context based on their own understanding as well as references to other relevant issues. This approach brings out a coherent, logical and ordered discussion, which makes sense to the reader.

How are sources quoted and documented? Is it acceptable?

Throughout the text, the reader encounters various excerpts from the book, which it reviews. It provides a reference for the analysis it provides and helps the reader relate to it. Also, while analyzing a certain context authors make extensive referrals to various other works by different authors and cite their sources properly. This helps establish a sense of validity of their argument, which is completely acceptable.

Work Cited

Gerard, W B & Eric Sterling; Sir Thomas Mores Utopia and the Transformation of England from Absolute Monarchy to Egalitarian Society; Contemporary Justice Review; Vol. 8, No. 1, 2005, pp. 7589; (Taylor & Francis Group Ltd)

Introduction

Utopia refers to an ideal, flawless society or state. The word is derived from a book written in the 16^th century by Sir Thomas Moore. The book titled The Best State of a Republic and the New Island Utopia described a fictional island based in the Atlantic which seemed to have an almost perfect social, political and legal set up. This is something that has never been witnessed in the actual world. Utopias foundations are in the Platos Republic where there is a very beautiful society that has a pacific attitude and all forms of social, political, and economic equality. In the utopian society depicted by both Moore and Plato, there are no social evils and the society is free from misery and poverty. The society has no laws because there are no evils that would warrant the use of laws. This utopian society has no lawyers neither does it go into war with other societies. There is religious tolerance and all forms of freedom. The society does not have monetary units, there are no taxes paid and there is communal ownership of property (Moore 8). No person is richer than another in this society, which appears to be an imaginary society that cannot exist in the real world. People usually link utopia to systems that are working properly though not as perfect as the one depicted by Moore. These systems could be the economy, a nation or even a social system. The area that commonly applies the utopian standard is the economics.

Economic Utopia

Most communities have been trying to create economic utopia. This attempt gained credence in the 19^th century especially in times of economic crisis. The development of capitalism and commercialization concepts gave rise to a variety of utopian ideas. This is because the two concepts disrupted the society very much leading to inclination towards utopian socialism that emphasized on an egalitarian society that had no money. The egalitarian society would also have people working for the common good and not for individual gain and goods would be distributed equally among people. This form of socialism, advocated by Edward Bellamy in his book looking backwards, received harsh criticism from William Morris and Karl Marx because of its high levels of bureaucracy (Sullivan 34). These two argued in favor of libertarian utopia that would ensure that bureaucracies were removed in socialistic movements. They also called for certain levels of individualism, thus advocating for individual utopia. In the modern setting that is being controlled by globalization and its influences, there have been attempts to create capitalist utopia focusing on free market economy.

The utopian idea presupposes that there should be private enterprises and individual efforts without the use of force or coercion. For this utopian free market economy to be achieved, the governments would be charged with the responsibility of creating opportunities for the individuals and the whole society to achieve and advance. This is contrary to Moores and Platos utopia which did not have the provision for individual achievement and progress. The big problem with capitalistic utopia is that there is no provision for cases of market failure. This was the same problem with the socialistic utopia created by Moore and Plato, because theirs did not provide for cases of planning failure. This means that any economic utopia must have a blend of socialism and capitalism because planning and free markets are capable of creating ideal economies the have near perfection in performance. However, no real economy has ever reached a point of having small enterprises operating under free market economic models because this would only work in societies that are classless.

Importance of the Moore Story on Utopia

Questions have emerged on the motives that Thomas Moore had while writing the story on the utopian island. This is because some of the ideals in the island seem to be opposite of what he believed. The utopian values condoned euthanasia, divorce, female priests and marriage for priests. These are things that Moore, a staunch Catholic was against. Analysts claim that the story was an attack on the social, political and economic systems of the 16^th century that were divisive and humiliating. Moore was very much against the religious intolerance that existed during his time especially the persecution of Heretics and the Protestants. That is why the utopians used to recite the below prayer every day.

If they are mistaken, and if there is either a better government, or a religion more acceptable to God, they implore His goodness to let them know it. (Moore 29).

The utopian island had a strange communal lifestyle that one does not expect to be encouraged by a person like Moore who was a rich landowner. However, the most probable motivation for encouraging such a communistic style of life was the Spanish conquest of America, where the Europeans came back with stories of near perfect communistic lifestyle of the people of the Inca Empire of Peru. Moore was advocating for simple uncomplicated societies that were free from enslaving complexities like religious intolerance, social classes, and economic inequalities. The utopian literature was therefore a criticism of the European society that had enslaving and rigid concepts which denied human beings a chance to live perfect lives. Moore distanced himself from the story he was telling about an imaginary place by creating an imaginary character called Raphael. The use of the name Raphael in this work is symbolic because in the bible, Raphael means Gods healing. This may imply that the story has a healing effect on the public by opening the readers to the truth that had been hidden from them for ages. The story on the island of utopia therefore serves to illustrate that perfection and happiness in life can only be achieved if human beings got rid of all the complexities that they have put in their lives. Human beings are bound by things that they themselves have made. They make laws that trap them. They created money, which given rise to social and economic inequalities. This has led to crimes which necessitate the use of laws that end up tying the people who made them. All these scenarios create complications that deny the human beings a chance to be happy. Moore asserts that humans can only be happy in a utopian society that is free of evil, free of inequalities, prejudice and laws.

The utopian ideas expressed by Moore may have been criticized during his time, but more than 300 years later, Karl Marx re emphasized most of these ideas in his communistic views. It is important to note that the communistic vies expressed by Marx and Moore are akin to the communistic views held in the bible, in the book Acts chapter two verse forty four to forty five (Acts 2;44-45).

They all had a belief that they were together, and had commonalities. They sold all what they owned, and shared the money with all the men, as it was needed to each. 

The biblical verse refers to the ancient Jerusalem church which is a microcosm of the entire society. Though the communism in utopia had elements of compulsion, the one depicted in the bible was voluntary. However, it is this kind of utopian society that existed in Jerusalem that shaped the views that this author had (Sullivan 89).

Conclusion

The story of the island of utopia is a satire on the complicated society that human beings live in. The author assert that, the more complicated the society becomes, the more problems it faces. The postulation here is that most of the problems that most of the problems that people face in the society are man made and they arise as people attempt to become complex and more sophisticated. According to Moore, human beings can make the world a perfect place if they embrace simplicity in their lives. This simplicity would bring soil, political, and economic equality. It would also create a society that I free of evil and a society where there are no worries or stresses. However, this kind of a society can hardly exist. It is an ideal society that does not address the realities on the ground. That is why the utopian island was just a figment of imagination, though the works of Moore has been carried over to many other applications where perfection is addressed. Therefore, achieving a political, social, religious and economic utopia is highly impossible, and Moore himself can assert that. The point he wanted to make is that, with utmost levels of simplicity, most of the problems that human beings face would disappear.

Works Cited

Moore, Thomas. Utopia. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2002.

Sullivan, Edward. The Utopian Vision: Seven Essays on the Quincentennial of Sir Thomas More San Diego: State University Press. 1983.