Comparing Plato's Republic, More's Utopia, and Gurney's Dinotopia

In his book Utopia, Thomas More examines a society that seems to be the ideal living situation for human beings. The main thesis of Utopia is his solution to many of the problems that are being faced in English society in the early 16th century.

Although comparing one society to another does not require them to be different in government or human behavior, it does necessarily weight one’s faults against its victories to render it better or worse than the other. This comparative structure, found between Thomas More’s two books of Utopia, poses the country of Utopia opposite the broader communities of world civilization. Despite the comparison of Utopia as distinct from and morally better than widespread society, in truth Utopia is, at best, an extension.

Utopian communities have had an incredible impact on both American society and various recognized religious sects throughout the United States as a whole. Many people saw, and still see, democratic government as unfair, leaving the poor behind to become poorer while the rich continued to get richer; they felt a change in work and fairness was officially in order. Utopian societies were created with commendable intentions, and their idea of the perfect cooperative society is an attractive conference, but they were all considered experiments because they all declined swiftly and hopelessly.

In the Republic, Plato uses reason to model the ultimate form of civilization where everyone achieves his/her human potential. This should not be confused with individual equality, for Plato sees a harmonious and virtuous community where citizens are under a hierarchy and working together for the greater good of the state. The question, however, remains: How does one achieve Plato’s ideal state when there is evil and deception in the world? In answering this question, Plato puts forth two arguments: an allegory to describe the complexities and necessities of reality, and a royal lie to carry out the ideal form of civilization. In this paper, I argue Plato’s Allegory of the Cave justifies the need for a royal lie found in

Parity of basic needs, elimination of poverty, and balance of power within society are features of Utopia. However, current culture may find the manipulation of the individual for the good of the commonwealth and the indifferent attitude towards women to be dystopic features of Utopia that hinder it from being an idyllic place.

Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of ambiguous dualities that forces the reader to question More’s real view on the concept of a utopian society. However, evidence throughout the novel suggests that More did intend Utopia to be the “best state of the commonwealth.” The detailed description of Utopia acts as Mores mode of expressing his humanistic views, commenting on the fundamentals of human nature and the importance of reason and natural law while gracefully combining the two seemingly conflicting ideals of communism and liberalism.

The idea of a ‘Utopia’ is captivating to many people. Utopia is defined as a “perfect society”, where there exist no flaws between relationships, economic standards, political standards, and more. Many stories feature caricatures of utopias, such as Harrison Bergeron.

In the modern world, we strive to reach our own “Utopia”, but this is just an unattainable ideal. Thomas More’s “Utopia” is the pinnacle world where you are equal by choice, or by force. This ideal society is extremely communal were nobody has want and nothing is closed off to any body. The people in Utopia criticize and ridicule those of contemporary society, they mock their rulers who were gems and fancy clothing to show their high rankings. The Utopians theological statement regarding sins that underlie these problems, namely greed and pride- sins against the social order. Modern day needs more equality among diversities, the segregations and prejudices we live with sour the world and make it prone to violent outbreaks.

The concept of utopia is one which has many differing connotations and is therefore also one which cannot be confined to one interpretation alone. The term is commonly used to represent a community or society that, in theory, possesses highly desirable or near-‘perfect’ qualities; however, these encompassing ideals, which arguably place emphasis on egalitarian principles of equality, are implemented in a number of ways and are subsequently based on varying ideologies, thus insisting on varying views of morality. The word itself, which was first coined by Sir Thomas More in the early sixteenth century and used to describe a fictional island society in the Atlantic Ocean, was taken from the Greek οὐ (‘not’) and τόπος (‘place’), literally translating

A perfect society has always been the goal for many; unfortunately it has only existed in books. The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli, written in 1513, provides necessary information to become a Prince who will obtain, keep, and please his empire. Thomas More's Utopia, written in 1516, creates an ideal civilization that will live happily, comfortably, and without any problems. Both books attempted to solve problems within a society by critiquing other institutions and creating their own solutions. With the rise in cities, trade, and the economy in the 15th century, people began to realize order and structure in a society is necessary to flourish. Machiavelli and

‘One man’s utopia is another man’s dystopia.’ This is a famous quote we must often bear in mind when writing about such topics and it is often fairly accurate. A utopian society, in this essay, will be defined as a “non-existent society that is described in considerable detail…” (Fitting, 1993, 1) and an ideal and visionary society that enjoys perfection in various fields such as politics, law and more as seen in Thomas More’s famous novel, Utopia. A positive utopian society is often impossible due to a variety of reasons, primarily human nature and the inevitable inequality found in these idealized societies. A prime example of how a utopian society is often impossible can be found in Andrew Niccol’s film, Gattaca (1997). The film Gattaca explores a new version of an idealized society, a utopia that revolves heavily around genetic engineering. In Gattaca, an individual’s future is delineated by his or

The so-called Utopia – the quasi-perfect society – flourishes in Margaret Cavendish’s “The Description of a New World, Called a Blazing World” and Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. While the former is a dreamlike account of fantasy rule and the latter a pseudo-realistic travelogue, both works paint a picture of worlds that are not so perfect after all. These imperfections glitter like false gemstones in the paths of these Utopians’ religious beliefs, political systems, and philosophical viewpoints.

A utopian community would be a world without oppression, discrimination or social hierarchy—essentially, an ideal place to live. However, does a perfect society really exist? In Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, More flirts with the concept of a utopian community with regard to geography, city structure, labor, government and religion. Considering these aspects, the community depicted in Utopia is primarily a success, with limited failures.

The idea of a perfect society, or “utopia,” was first introduced in Sir Thomas More’s book Utopia, written in 1516. In the book, More described a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean through the character Raphael. On the island everything and everyone has a specific place and purpose. There is no private property, all of the houses on the island are the same; you can walk in the front door, through the house, and out the back door. All necessary items are stored in warehouses, where people only request what they need. The people on the island manufacture the items in the warehouse, everyone that can work does, which means little to no unemployment.

An ideal society is considered to be a utopian society, defined as a society where everything is as good as it possibly can be for everyone living in that society. However this type of society has never existed before and continues to be a dream that remains locked up in our minds. Three philosophers who seem to propose an ideal just society are John Rawls, Karl Marx and Milton Friedman. I will be explaining what my vision of an ideal society is and what are the basis and fundamental principles that Rawls, Marx and Friedman use in order to obtain a just society.