desire in utopia
Desire versus Social Organization in More's UtopiaSocial organization in the imaginary community described by Hythloday in Thomas More's Utopia is highly structured around certain basic principles that allow the society to function as a working unit. Many of these fundamental rules focus on communal life in Utopia, promoting shared property, minimal law enforcement, trust, and honesty, while downplaying notions of luxury and finance. More contends that the Utopians, according to nature, should "lead a life as free of anxiety and as full of joy as possible, and to help all one's fellow men toward that end". Desire, the driving force that motivates all human behavior is overlooked in this equation. More recognizes this briefly, asking, "If such a life is good, and we are supposed, indeed obliged to help others to it, why shouldn't we first seek all of it for ourselves, to whom we owe no less charity than anyone else?" (pg 51). Desire, a central element of the human psyche, would complicate these basic principles by introducing notions of greed, competition, and crime into the society that works to suppress these social ills into submission. The very foundations of Hythloday's social order rest upon maintenance of the un
Desire encourages the idea of bettering one's self, which would introduce the notion of upward mobility, thus undermining the ability for the social order to stay structured as designed. Trade, along with most other personal ventures, would no longer be supervised with the scrutiny implicit in the social design due to the sheer volume increase that would accompany a boost in individual incentive. Citizens could start selling off their own stocks of supplies, as well as engaging in larceny at the work place. Trade becomes a much more profitable enterprise if people have an incentive for personal financial gain. More describes that "[t]he Utopians think it hardly right to take what they don't need away from people who do need it" (pg 46). This phenomenon could pull off needed wares from both the agent of the sale and the general community, especially if the is selling to concentrated interests. Desire challenges all of the underlying elements that allow a communal society to function. The tenuous balance of social communism held in tact by a submission of individual desire would therefore be eliminated. Utopia in its current form strives against "other countries, where they have a multitude of incomprehensibly intricate laws" (pg 64). Since the Utopians have no concept of the consequences involved with unabashed desire, they would have no means of dealing with it within the context of their societal structure. The element of financial risk and debt would be present whereas it had not been before. Desire would bring forth emotions in Utopian citizens that were previously absent: jealously, aggression and anxiety. Utopia discourages the ownership of private property, which directly hinders the insatiable and innate human desire for things. With the introduction of desire, gold and silver would be now considered valuable, thus establishing precious metals as a form of money.
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