The Issue Of Utopian Socialism

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

series of class struggles, then moves on to target the bourgeoisie, stating that they have been a

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 working class during the Industrial Revolution made up 80 percent of society, the other 20 was composed of wealthy business owners. People in the 1800’s migrated from shops in their home to work in dangerous and life threatening factories. While many say this was a positive period, it came with negative consequences. The Industrial Revolution was more negative than positive because working conditions were very unsafe, workers worked extremely long hours, and employees worked for cheap wages.

During the Industrial Revolution everyone had to adapt to the massive work load that was created. Back then demands for products was so high, the only thought and concern the Business Man had was how he was going to keep the currency rolling in. They used Humans as machines, without care and regards to their health and well being. Once they were faced with consequence for their disregard for life, laws were put into place to protect the workers. This in turned probably caused them more money and slower production in obeying the law.

The industrial revolution affected the working conditions, living conditions and economic life on the average worker in the 1800s.

Workers during the Industrial Revolution had hoped for benefits, such as health, cleaner working conditions, better pay, and less working hours. Industrial workers often felt overworked because of the long, stressful hours placed upon them by their employers. Labor unions began to emerge as a result of the long hours and awful working conditions. These workers were locked up all day in factories that were eight stories high. They were given absolutely no relaxation until the heavy engine stopped. After leaving work, they would go home to get refreshed for the next day. This left these industrial workers with no time for association with their families.

The ever-evolving machines pushed the workers to their limits as injuries became commonplace in the factories, driving workers to adapt to the machines’ rapidity. The exponentially declining salary of workers forced them and their families to adapt to a new life of destitution. Migrant workers from Europe, yearning a high paying job, also had to adapt to the unfamiliarities of the American industry and the impoverished life ahead. Worker strikes and rebellions during the Industrial revolution were the result of exhausted and overworked workers, leading to governmental shutdown, and leaving the workers to recover from their burdensome

There were many problems in the working class, during the Industrial Revolution, some of the problems were: the long hours they had to work, poor hygiene, their physical appearance, life expectancy. These things made up some of the working classes major problems.

The Industrial Revolution brought many changes to the societies that experienced the process of industrialization. Some of the changes benefited society while others caused harm to most of the society. Most affected by these changes was the working class of theses societies, in regards to the working people of the country of England they had experienced a lot of pain caused by the industrialization.

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.

Firchow, Peter Edgerly. "George Orwell's Dystopias: From Animal Farm to Nineteen Eighty-Four." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 11 Mar. 201

The Industrial Revolution had many negative affects on people. Many people worked from home before the Revolution. Raw materials were delivered to people's cottages and the weavers would process the wool in their homes. This was an advantage for the workers because they would make their own schedules and work at their own pace; however, for these same reasons, they were disadvantages for business owners. The Industrial Revolution made it possible to move the jobs from cottages to factories where they business owners can oversee the workers and account for their time. Some people considered the factory jobs a blessing while others considered it a hardship. The work day was long, conditions were unsanitary and food was sparse.

One would think industrialization would bring better paying jobs and more employment opportunities, but the stories of the people who lived through the Industrial Revolution say otherwise. Workers faced long days, if not even longer days than those who worked in preindustrial times. Even though work hours were somewhat the same as preindustrial labor, the way those hours were carried out differed greatly. Laborers no longer had the comfort of working alongside and socializing with their families nor the power to control their pace of work. Workers would now be punished and penalized for doing such things. Companies would enforce punctuality and pace usually by correlating it with a worker’s pay. The less punctual and lazier you were, the more fines and the more pay decreases you would suffer. The nature of this new labor emphasized more on the importance of the company rather than the individual. Companies often had little concern when their workers suffered. If someone was incapable of performing their duties, there was always somebody else to take their place. It was unfortunate because many of these workers who were unable to perform well at their job often suffered from

     Socialist ideals have recurred throughout the history of literature; from Plato to Marx the elusive goal of a perfect state has occupied some of the best minds in political thought manifesting itself in literature. In the midst of this historic tradition is the Utopia of More, a work which links the utopias of the ancient with the utopias of the modern. Hythloday's fantasy island draws heavily on the Greek Republic and yet it influenced the revolutionary world of Marx. What values do the Utopians hold which are in common with other socialist utopian values, and which ideals of theirs are unique?