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Thursday, October 4
Thomas More's vision of the perfect society, Utopia, has been widely praised by a variety of readers from diverse political and religious persuasions. What present-day governmental and religious institutions are most in agreement with the society that More outlined?Man’s Utopia “Utopia,” in a word, describes the perfect society where every body in the community exists to fulfill a purpose and attains constant happiness. But attempting to describe utopia within the confines of a human society compares to humans attempting to fly autonomously to machines. The term “utopia” comes from Greek roots collectively meaning “no place.” Utopia can only be achieved if infallible individuals constitute the community. Humankind as it exists today is anything but infallible. As Thomas Paine stated in Common Sense, “[society] promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, [government] negatively by restraining our vices.” Paine also points out that society, as it grows larger, naturally forms a government. Since society and government must intertwine, defining one defines the other. Therefore, to define man’s most achievable form of utopia, man must define a specific type of government. Consider a dictatorship as a utopia for one. The most efficient form of government, one person defines the rules which all persons in the society must follow. Objectives become fulfilled quickly and efficiently without any form of bureaucracy to advance through. Every person in the society thinks the same way (or must appear so) to avoid conflict. This style of government solves many social problems, such as crime and unemployment, to the sacrifice of freedom. The distribution of wealth depends on the ruler; potentially, the ruler will distribute the wealth unevenly, favoring himself over others. The majority of the common people will feel oppressed and unhappy. As a result, the whole of mankind cannot find utopia in a dictatorship. Socialism defines the other extreme of the governmental spectrum. The modern socialist party claims that government in the ideal socialistic state will take on democratic characteristics. In theory, the government evenly distributes wealth throughout the common people in the form of benefits such as health care, higher education, and unemployment benefits. However, people will come to depend on the government to the extent that they may stop working, possessing the ability to survive solely on the governmental benefits. The free-market democracy places itself between the two aforementioned administrations. This style of government provides the greatest amount of freedom for as many people as possible. The free-market economy procures opportunities for those who work the hardest. This provides motivation to work, and will thus sustain the economy. Government, which “is produced by our wickedness,” as Paine writes , won’t hold as much power as in the socialistic system. Companies or other private groups retain the right to give out benefits to their employees. Everyone in the society secures freedom. Although not all people will claim complete happiness, they claim freedom and opportunity. Different style of government, the dictatorship, the socialist democracy, and the free-market democracy, provide different types of “utopia.” A dictatorship provides utopia for only one: the dictator. The socialistic democracy may provide all working people a utopia, but if people do not work and simply survive on the governmental benefits, the economy suffers. A free-market democratic style of democracy promotes the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people for the longest period of time. The American Heritage Dictionary describes utopia as “an ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects.” Mankind recognizes the fact that utopia cannot yet exist on Earth and the only explanation lies within its own fallibility. Ember [
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