Utopian Society example essay topic

Utopia Sir Thomas More writes, in his book Utopia, about a society that is perfect in practically ever sense. The people all work an equal amount and everything they need for survival is provided. Most importantly is that everyone living in this perfect society is happy and content with their everyday lives. In this society everybody supports everyone. The community is only as strong as its weakest link. For society to progress everyone must work together.

Opponents of the Utopian system, however, feel that the strong should not have to look after the weak. Progress would be maximized if all the resources are spent on the people most qualified to help society. A Utopian society, as perfect as the one described by More, has never really been tested in the real world so it is hard to say if it will work or not. The ideals preached through the Utopian can and should be learned from. A united group of people is much stronger then a few powerful men.

Society could benefit greatly by striving to bring more unity among the people of the world. The life of the Utopians is nearly perfect. They work short hours and in the profession in which they most desire. The work is not overly hard and everyone takes an equal turn doing the jobs which nobody wishes to engage in. Their day consists of six hours of work before lunch, and three hours after, with a two hour break for lunch (More 137). In return for this work the Utopians are provided not with money but with the food, water, and shelter that is needed to sustain life.

Everyone gets an equal amount of these necessities regardless of how hard one worked. This is not a source of tension seeing as everyone works equally as hard. People are taught throughout their childhood that one should work to better the community rather than working for the selfish reasons of personal wealth. The economy in the world today is not one which focuses on the progression of the community but instead is one which promotes the individual. The individual must somehow make himself important to the community in which he lives so that he can prosper. This can be done by working hard or by having great natural abilities.

The more valuable one is to society, the better ones life will be. The people who are more beneficial to society deserve to live a life that is superior to those people that are less important. Why should these people waste their talents on people who do little or no work to help society? The more helpful one is to society the more resources that person deserves. Free time is not very common, for people are constantly working to better their life and make themselves more important to society. In Utopia, people have an ample amount of free time.

During "all the void time, that is between the hours of work, sleep, meat that they be suffered to bestow, every man as he like th best himself" (More 137). People can focus on the activities which bring them pleasure because they are not trying to elevate themselves in society by working extra hard. People do not pick activities so that they can become the best at whatever hobby they choose. People choose a hobby based upon what brings them the most pleasure. Nearly everyone in the community reads and studies because they all take pleasure out of learning and improving their minds. An equal amount of time is spent in physical activities so that the body as well as the mind can experience pleasure.

The Utopians strive to better themselves equally in the mind, body, and spirit. People of today love to compete. The best athletes and smartest intellects love to show everyone that they are superior to everyone else in their field. On the average people only focus on either becoming either a better athlete or a better scholar. Very rarely does one see a well rounded person. People tend to concentrate on improving themselves in whatever field they most excel.

Some excel so far above and beyond their competition that others will pay to see them compete. This brings fame and fortune to these fine scholars and athletes. People should learn and exercise because they want to make themselves a better person mentally and physically, and not because they want to become rich and famous. Wealth and fame are not present in the Utopian society because everyone is equal in both the mind and the body. For the reason that no one is considered superior mentally, no ones beliefs on religion are questioned. Everyone has a right and the mental capacity to choose for themselves whatever religious conviction he so desires.

Religious prosecution is all but nonexistent. Of the few simple laws that exist on Utopia, "one the ancientest laws among them [is], that no man shall be blamed for reasoning in the maintenance of his own religion" (More 188). The community does nothing to promote one religion above another. There is a common place of worship and all religious acts which may offend another must be done behind the closed doors of ones home.

Anyone found condemning other religions is subject to severe punishment. Such practices keep religion from being a source of tension among members of the community. Religion in the world today is a major source of conflict. People consider their religion to be superior and some condemn all religions which are not of the same faith as they hold. Without laws and a common feeling that all religions should be tolerated, people continue to fight one another in the name of their creator. These holy wars cause much violence and bloodshed in a world of little religious tolerance.

People should instead try to bring order and peace to the community, for the community is more important than the individual. Utopian society depends on everybody wanting to better both the community in which they live and themselves as human beings. People who are weaker or less intelligent still serve a purpose somewhere in the society. Whether it is today, tomorrow, or even years down the road, everyone has a purpose. They should do their best to help society in the best way they possibly can. As long as everyone has this same feeling towards progress on the whole then the community will continue to grow.

People today see the world in a more Darwinist point of view. The strong will survive and continue to prosper while the weak will fail and die off. The time and money spent keeping the weak alive is a waste. It should instead be spent in a way so that society can become more advanced. The weak just slow down the development of the society. The problem with the system today is that one can not foresee the future and one can not be sure that untested system will work.

The Darwinist system allows for rapid development. Society is not slowed down by the weak. The Utopian society, on the other hand, is very good in that one never knows how important a person or a group of people are until they are needed for something great. Under the Utopian system everyone is kept alive and well in case they are needed for anything. If everyone could embrace the Utopian ideas then it could work, but as soon as one person begins to doubt the system then the who.