Utopia Discussion Question #4
May 16, 2008 by mswilson
Consider the political system of Utopia. Which elements of the Utopian system would you like to see introduced into our system & why? Which would be unsuccessful in our system?
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I think a designated rest time in the middle of the work day would be excellent to have introduced into our system. This is because having a long break in the middle of the day would be nice. I also think that giving the senate time to think about ideas being introduced before discussing them is a good idea. When issues are thoroughly thought through before being discusses, they can be discussed more intelligently and productively. Choosing princes for life would not work in our system. This would lead to someone becoming a dictator eventually. Even though in the book it says that if a prince is suspected of wanting this kind of power he is kicked out, no specific plan is given for getting rid of the prince if this is the case. Also, no one ever intends for elected leaders to take over governments, and it has happened many times in history anyway. I also think that relocating people to regulate city sizes would not work. If someone did not want to leave their hometown, as would be the case with many, this would create a lot of resentment towards the Utopian government.
One of my favorite lines in Utopia, “The Utopians wonder that there is any man who delights in the faint gleam of a little gem when he can look at some star or even the sun itself.”While this idea of “wealth” may not be directly related to the political system, I still believe that it is a lesson that could be well-taken in our own social system. Unhappiness arises from mankind’s want of what he can’t have. To be denied is to be disatisfied. But “worth” is often times a relative concept and most objects are assigned a value according to arbitrary standards set by society. For example, More writes, “They (Utopians) marvel that there is any man so foolish as to think himself the nobler because of the fine texture of his woolen clothing. No matter how fine the thread, a sheep once wore it, and the sheep was a sheep still for all its wearing it.” People should take pleasure in what is available to them (the stars) and not get hung up on what is desirable but unobtainable (the gems). The gems represent satisfaction that must be bought, also implying that greater happiness requires greater and greater sums of money. Almost everyone has resorted to the saying, “Money doesn’t buy happiness” and while I agree with this statement I don’t think anyone will ever take it as seriously as the Utopians and abolish the use of currency. I agree with the Utopians that people should invest more of their happiness in simple pleasures, but I also feel that money is a necessary incentive and reward for work ethic and our system can not exist without it.
One aspect of the utopian government that I would like to see in our own is universal healtcare, “the sick, as I have said, they tend carefully, omitting no medicine or food that will restore them to health,” (57). The reason that I have for encouraging the United States to adopt such a system is that private health insurance currently leaves over 30 million Americans without medical coverage of any kind. In Utopia, however, no standards are listed for determining whether a person deserves treatment or not. Other than this, however, I do not realistically think that the United States can adopt any of the utopia’s governmental policies. My reasoning is that while their government is based on a fictional society in which basic human nature does not interfere with the workings of the government, American society is composed of actual people. It is natural for man to strive to acheive great things through hard work, which he would be unable to do in a society where everyone farms and does not make money. A realistic society can only function if one gets out what he or she puts in.
The Utopians political system is basically based around the Catholic Church and the Ten Commandments. The Utopians also have a prince and a senate who deal with the feign relations and punishment. The senate and the prince don’t really have anything to do from what I tell; they would deal with natural disasters (if they exist in that world). Also the society is almost entirely patriarchal with only virtuous old widows (who are long for this world) who can become priests (but that isn’t likely). They have helped emancipate some of their neighboring countries from tyrants, they place Utopians in charge but that is by popular demand of the neighboring countries. The Utopians claim not to like war and claim go into war cautiously (still are prepared to defend themselves), but they help friends defend and if a good enough case is made they will even help get revenge for their friends. Silver and gold is despised by Utopians; they use these materials for chamber pots and adorn prisoners with these. They treasure the materials required for everyday life like iron. Utopians accept the cripples and punish those who make fun of them. Utopians’ laws are few (in respect to other countries) and clear. Those who attempt to commit a crime get the same punishment as those who do commit said crime, etc.
Out of what I have mentioned the only realist ideas that I would like to see in society would be the clear, to the point, laws, accepting cripples, and being very cautious of going to war.
Sadly none of are going to happen anytime soon (if ever). If laws don’t have alsorts of nonsense people will use loop holes and cause tons of trouble. As long as we have pride people will make fun of those they think they are better than; someone who is deformed or crippled is considered ugly by society and is therefore made fun of (incidentally there was a law about punishing people who don’t take care of their natural beauty, I think). Finally with the whole cautiously going to war, that won’t happen as long as society is patriarchal; men like fighting too much.
Am I answering this late? Technically it’s 12:30, Friday morning, but it kind of seems like Thursday night. Well, anyways, The parts of the Utopian system that I would like to become introduced to our system is the theory that everyone should get something back from the community. I feel it is important that everyone has the right to live, to eat, and to have shelter, and if they cannot afford it, then the community should be obligated to supply it to them. However, I strongly disagree with the Utopian thought of DEPENDING on people to work for the benefit of the community. Humans are not that selfless; they work for themselves and for those that they are closely related to or that they know dearly. People will not dilligently work for people a few thousand miles away (as in the USSR) without any incentive. A good incentive, like more money, is the capitalist way of getting people to work harder. Of course on the other hand, the government can threaten people’s lives to get them to work (Stalinism, if that’s a word). I believe that the people are the most important part of any society and that there should be loads of social programs to help out the people. However, the people must be provided with incentives.
-Zach
P.S. I”m going to finish my Scientist Collage now
Ms. Wilson,
You don’t have to put this on the blog, but I just realized something cool:
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nevermind, it didn’t work