Like Plato, More retains the belief in One God in his concept of the perfect society by injecting the foundation of Neoplatonism and blending it with a rather festive or carnival-like quality (Marius 1995 as qtd in SparkNotes 2010). Utopians enjoy the good life at the expense of firmly rooted institutions and established order in society. People turn their freedom around and upside down. Ranks, norms, prohibitions, private property and morals are suspended. Critics see the Utopian society as opposing what has been made complete and immortal for ages (SparkNotes).
Conclusion
Both Plato and Thomas More, in their respective works, aim at the perfect or ideal society but in different perspectives under the 5 sub-themes. Plato builds his society on justice and harmony in a way that balances the internal and the external conditions of a person. He assumes that true justice already exists in every man and that every man desires it. His Republic is headed by philosopher-kings, reared and trained from childhood. He believes that a just society can exist only according to the principles of justice already enshrined in the heart of a philosopher-king. Thomas More, on the other hand, builds his perfect society on rational thought, communal property, optimum productivity and the abolition of individuality and authority. He believes in the primacy of good, which equates with the good and pleasant life and benevolence itself. There are no classes of people in the Utopia. They feel no greed for wealth. There is no poverty in this society and only a minimum of crime and immorality. The people sacrifice all external forms of order for a life of unbounded pleasure and license.
In the Republic, guardians are carefully chosen from and adequately prepared for from childhood. From the three ranks come the soldiers, the military arm of the State. In contrast, there is no authority in the Utopia. It goes by public censure and punishment. Slavery and being treated as an animal are extreme punishments for offenders and it is imposed by society as a whole.
Citizenships in the Republic falls under distinct classes, according to what the people contribute...
Children are brought up and trained stringently to become upright citizens and deserving guardians in the future. The thrust is political. Thomas More assumes Plato's strict methods in guiding children for the future of Utopian society. Its thrust, however, tends more towards social structures in effecting reform.
Education is a very serious business to the Republic. It trains potential guardians according to a strict curriculum, which balances physical, mental and aesthetic development. It turns over the training from the parents to the State. On the other hand, violations of social norms are punished with censure and a bad reputation in parents for not taming their children's sensual appetite.
The Republic serves the Good as the goal of education rather than a personal God and Savior. However, it sets the acquaintanceship with the form of that Good as standard and a representation of a personal God. Utopia, on the other hand, claims to draw its concept from one God. It chooses the pleasurable life at the expense of external social institutions that keep excesses in check. Critics view Utopian society as opposing long-held social beliefs and institutions.
Both concepts of a perfect or ideal society assume that pure goodness already exists within man and that all men pursue it. Plato's Republic is at the mercy of the personalities who raise and train future leaders, no matter how strictly. And More's Utopia is getting nowhere near the ideal by not imposing reason and laws. #
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Book Notes. The Republic by Plato. Book Rags, Inc., 2004. Retrieved on November 28,
2010 from http://www.bookrags.com/notes/rep/SUM.htm
Kemerling, Garth. Plato: Education and the Value of Justice. Philosophy Pages, 2001.
Retrieved on November 27, 2010 from http://www.philosophypages/hy/2h.htm
-. Plato: the State and the Soul.
http://www.philosophypages.com/hq/2g.
SparkNotes. Utopia by St. Thomas More. SparkNotes, LLC. Barnes & Noble Network,
2010. Retrieved on November 27, 2010 from http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/utopia
