Ideal Society Vs Utopia

How is it that prison reformers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries put such a big amount of effort into changing the way people were being punished. Without touching on the importance of racial disparities occurring during that specific time-period. Davis states “If the individual was not perceived as possessing inalienable rights and liberties, then the alienation of those rights and liberties by removal from society to a space tyrannically governed by the state would not have made sense.” (Davis 2003: 44). African Americans can be viewed as one of the greatest racially discriminated groups of people since the beginning of slavery. Many viewed slaves as unintelligent individuals that were nothing more than a piece of meat whose main purpose was to endure hard labor for no pay. This “airtight system of social control” (Burris & Burris 2011) is the foundation of oppression that has allowed our society to devalue the rights

Today, in the United States, most citizens are able to appreciate the fair, balanced legal system that is in place. The country suffered many failures before establishing the United States Constitution, and later the Bill of Rights, which became the foundation of the country’s legal system and protection of the citizens’ rights (American Sentinel University). Citizens may take their right to trial or their right to due process for granted, without realizing how life was before these rights were recognized and established. Until the Constitution in 1787, the justice system was not permanent and not quite clear, causing unfair and unjust treatment. Of course, no system can be perfect, but it is possible to discover options that suit the wants

In forming his ideas for the country of Utopia, More points out many of the problems that he sees in English society. One of the most striking examples of English social problems that More points out is the punishment of thieves. In England, thieves are punished with death. There is no distinction between the severity of crimes in the justice system and a man who steals a loaf of bread is given the same sentence as a man who kills. According to More,

Instead of this injustice of jailing, the Utopians choose to take slaves. The fate facing slaves in Utopia is to be "kept constantly at work, and are always fettered" (70). Considering the premise in Book I of the Polylerites' constant work, Utopian slavery sounds vaguely tolerable, aside from the fetters, and the fact that the Utopians do not need to work full days. The Utopians excuse slavery by claiming they "deal with their own people more harshly" because they had "the best of moral training" (70). In this case, the criminal is punished for moral delinquency in the form of slavery's high moral standing. But perhaps the most remarkable and revealing of justifications is that "A third class of slaves consists of hardworking penniless drudges from other nations who voluntarily choose to become slaves in Utopia" (71). The appeal here, beyond the hilarity, is the existence of a third class of slaves. Not only do Utopians believe in and use slavery, but also they take no issue with the concept of a class system: not only to have slaves, but to have classes thereof. With slavery considered voluntary for some, punishment for others, and simply the luck of the draw for the rest, it appears the Utopians cannot reach the rationality they claim to behold.

Throughout history, many utopian societies have been established in hopes of creating a protected and uniform environment. In order to maintain a perfectly equal and errorless environment, some basic human rights are often violated. Many of the utopian principles put in place are based on the fear that the citizens will gain knowledge and notice the absence of their basic human rights. Unfortunately, once the citizens figure out that the government has infringed on their civil liberties they become disillusioned and want to revolt. This ultimately causes dissention and unhappiness throughout the utopia, which defeats the sole intention the leaders had when creating it. To avoid the rebellion, leaders of utopian experiments infringe on

One of the major themes Mitchell plays with in his novel is the concept of a utopian society, and what it is comprised of. In each story, there is a setup for a ‘perfect’ society, but humanity, or humanity’s spirit got in the way. Each story represents how the interpretation of things can shape a society, depending on how literal they take the events. In the story “Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Everythin’ After”, the tales are in place to develop the role of each character. Zachry fights his inner demons, just as Truman Napes does with Old Georgie. Zachry chooses to protect and befriend Meronym, even though it goes against his initial judgement. Meronym fights for the overall good of the people just as the crow does in “Prescient yarnie”. She goes out and lives with the villagers to gather information, and saves Zachry’s sister. She is making diplomatic decisions to take on the risk of changing the course of things by helping her. The function of Zachry and Meronym are to be foils of each other, even the story is told from the biased perspective of Zachry. Meronym is focused on long term goals, and the redevelopment of society, while Zachry is very much focused on the present time, and the folklore that affects his day to day life.

The documentary 13th featured on Netflix discusses the heavy topics of slavery and mass incarceration in our Criminal Justice System. The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution freed the slaves and prohibited slavery, unless it was a punishment for a crime. Making criminals an exception to this protection made them slaves to the state, again. There has been an immense continuation of slavery through the criminalization of behavior of African Americans in our society and through our Criminal Justice System practices. Convict leasing, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Jim Crow, and the War on Drugs are all systems of oppression that can be seen in today's practices that allow for this perpetuation of slavery, currently recognized as mass incarceration.

Mass incarceration is defined as the substantial increase in the number of Americans, particularly men of color, imprisoned within the last forty years. Despite its intentions to serve justice, the system is flawed; the physical freedom, possessions, and educational/career opportunities for inmates are limited during and after imprisonment. Lockeian ideology provides insight into how our criminal justice system has come to operate in this way. In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, Locke outlines two different types of slavery: justified and unjustified. His definition of justified slavery, which is critical to this paper, states that if a lawful conqueror is defending his or herself against an aggressor and wins, he or she has a

Today, the number of cases defended by public defenders is huge. For example, in 2011 in Miami Dade County, the largest of the 20 Florida Circuit Courts, approximately 100,000 cases were assigned to Public Defenders.The Court held that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial and, as such, applies the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In overturning Betts, Justice Black stated that “reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.” He again wrote to defend his position that the “noble ideal” of “fair trials before impartial tribunals in which every defendant stands equal before the law . . . cannot be realized if the poor man charged with crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist

1. In New York, a group of Hatians live in a building and a hole in the wall is their door. The sqautters have dirty clothes and smoke crack. All of them truly beileve that they are all extended family. They all came to America because they thought it would be so easy to get a job and start making money.

Each person has their own vision of utopia. Utopia means an ideal state, a paradise, a land of enchantment. It has been a central part of the history of ideas in Western Civilization. Philosophers and writers continue to imagine and conceive plans for an ideal state even today. They use models of ideal government to express their ideas on contemporary issues and political conditions. Man has never of comparing the real and ideal, actuality and dream, and the stark facts of human condition and hypothetical versions of optimum life and government.

Imagine you are a teen walking down the street with a friend. Now imagine being surrounded by police and getting searched for something that is not there. Since the item in question can not be placed the accuser changes their story; After multiple versions of what allegedly happened the police arrest you and your friend. Due to having a history of theft, a judge charges you with second degree robbery, even though there is no evidence to prove any wrong doing. Thinking the justice system will come through, and knowing your innocence, a trial is requested. Bail is set and cannot be paid due to economic hardship. Another consequence of not having money for bail, is there is also no money for a private attorney. A public defender, who has to many cases to keep straight, is assigned to help defend in court, yet he is trying to lessen his load and recommends several times that a plea deal is the best option that should be taken, even in the case of innocence. Picture holding out hope that if the case could just go to trial all would come to light. Four years pass by, mostly spent in solitary confinement, where the harsh circumstances begin to take a toll, mentally and physically. Imagine conditions so horrible, death seems better than enduring another day. Now picture the day for “justice” is finally here. No sooner does court get started it ends. The case gets thrown out due to the person who started all of this not being present. All the suffering that has been endured,

The American colonies had no such thing as aristocrats; therefore Americans cared far less about status than Europeans. Due to the lack of care regarding one’s status, America did not create any special form of punishment for high status persons that could later serve as a basis for milder and respectful punishment reforms for all, like in Europe. Its prisons comprised of a mixture of all inmates regardless of their social status or nature of their crime, and all received the same treatment. This treatment can be thought of as “low status” treatment for all criminals to receive, one which involved extreme harshness and indignity. Interestingly in the 19th century, Tocqueville theorized and predicted that societies would become less harsh as conditions became more equal because social inequality promotes injustice and a lack of proper respect for human beings.

In our lives today, we take advantage of all the luxuries that are presented daily. Freedom alone is one of the greatest luxuries we possess as an American nation. In Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs and Utopia by Thomas Moore, we are presented two life styles, which some might consider very similar in various ways. Both authors focus on a peaceful living lifestyle, to better the people of the nation. Although some of their specific details are different, I believe that Jacobs would definitely approve of the features that More develops in Utopia.

In a perfect utopian society everyone gets what they need because communication, understanding, and open mindedness of different ideas would be key. In order for a society to be a utopia, everyone has to be comfortable and be provided with their wants and needs and everything needs to function perfectly. In order for function and equality, people must compromise in thoughts and ideas to provide for everyone. To do that, one must have a good understanding of why others may think differently and have the ability to accept that. One of the many reasons our Earth is not a utopia is because of the competition and contradictory understandings of people, and the inability to accept other’s ideas. You do not have to believe what others believe, but respect for separate thought would make the world better. If everyone had their thoughts heard, were more sympathetic of different ideas and more capable of compromise, then there would possibly not be such gaps in social standing and humans dying from lack of basic needs while others bathe in gold.