Utopia: Democracy and Citizenship

Table of contents

Utopian politics seems a strange mixture of freedom and repression. Utopia employs a democratic government, its people represented by two layers of elected public officials, the higher level selected by the lower level. However, the rule abolishing on pain of death any discussion of politics outside of the political arena seems incredibly repressive. This repression, though, is a fair repression in the sense that all citizens of Utopia are equally bound by it. This is a very different repression than those in place in Europe, where the poor and weak were repressed by the rich and powerful. Utopia is operating under a rule of law, with all citizens subject to that law, even if the law itself strikes modern readers as excessive.

Hythloday trumpets the lack of private space as a wonderful idea promoting friendship and stifling pettiness and gossip. Again, though, in the loss of private space is a correspondent loss of privacy and autonomy. Utopia is a society in which everyone watches everyone else, much as everyone does in George Orwell’s nightmare world of ##1984##. There is often little differentiating one man’s Utopia from another’s dystopia.

Occupations, Workload and Productivity

As mentioned earlier, all people are engaged in farm work. They are taught theories of farming in school, and practical skills in the field.

Other than farm work, every person, woman and man, has a specific occupation. The most common trades are spinning and weaving, masonry, blacksmithing, and carpentry. Women, because they are less strong, are employed in trades that do not demand heavy work.

Young boys usually learn their trade through apprenticeship to their fathers, but if a boy shows a particular desire or aptitude for a different career, arrangements are made. People are allowed to apprentice and learn more than one trade, and then practice whichever they prefer, unless the city has a particular need for one rather than the other. Nobody is allowed to lounge while on the job. Those few who do are punished.

However, unlike European societies, working people in Utopia are not forced to toil for unconscionable hours each day. The Utopian day is broken into twenty-four hours; Utopians only work for six hours per day, three before lunch and three after. Utopians also sleep on average about eight hours a day. This leaves them with a great deal of free time, which they are free to do with as they will, as long as they do not spend it in debauchery or idleness.

Most people use their free time to engage in intellectual pursuits. They also involve themselves in music, gardening, and physical activity. Those people who demonstrate a keen love and aptitude for intellectual pursuits are identified early and, as long as they are diligent in their studies, they are exempt from physical labor. If a laborer should demonstrate some great skill in his recreational intellectual efforts, he too can become exempt from is work if he desires.

Though the Utopians work such short hours they do not suffer from any lack of productivity. Though Europeans work far longer hours, European populations are also filled with a far larger percentage of people who do no productive work at all, including most women, much of the clergy, the rich gentlemen and nobles and all of their retainers, and all of the beggars.

Also, because the Utopians diligently maintain everything they build, they have to expend far less energy undertaking rebuilding projects than Europeans, who instead follow a cycle of build, watch degenerate, rebuild. Because of the general lack of Utopian vanity and an understanding of the value of utility over style, the goods Utopians use are also far less difficult to produce. All of these factors combine so that though the Utopian workday is relatively short, Utopian society is far more productive than European states, in terms of both necessities and modest luxuries.

Commentary

The degree of choice Utopians can exercise in choosing their vocation likely strikes modern readers as incredibly small. Compared to Europeans of the sixteenth century, however, the range is not small at all. True, a European noble was freer to do what he would–from composing poetry to lying around eating figs–than any Utopian. But the European lower classes had absolutely no mobility in terms of job. If a peasant was born to agricultural parents, he had little choice but to work the land as well. The fact that Utopia allowed all of its citizens to pursue careers purely on the basis of interest was a novel idea.

Hythloday also explains why More’s market-based economies are not vastly more productive than Utopia’s non-market, communal economy. Whereas one particular individual in a marke- based economy who works incredibly long hours in order to beat out his competition is quite certainly more productive than the average Utopian worker, for every one of the productive people in a market-based economy, Hythloday explains that there are innumerable people from nobles to beggars who make no productive contribution.

In contrast, no one in Utopia is phenomenally productive, but everyone is fairly productive. More’s comment that in a communal society no one would feel the compunction to work for the simple reason that they would be fed by the work of others is answered in the Utopian law punishing all laziness and lounging on the job. However, again, such a law seems to imply a repression that most modern readers might find unpleasant.

In acknowledging the need for such a law Utopian society admits to the flawed nature of man. It is not, then, that More’s criticism of communal property is wrong, but rather that it can be overcome through the proper structuring of society. Utopia is not ideal because its people are perfect, but rather because its laws make it so that Utopian citizens must act perfectly despite their inherent failings as humans.

Because Utopian society is so productive its citizens have a lot of free time. Again, a generally cynical understanding of human nature is betrayed in the laws outlawing idleness or debauchery, but this cynicism has the positive effect of pushing Utopians into intellectual or athletic pursuits. The process through which intellectuals are uncovered depends only on individual merit, a remarkable idea in an age dominated by privilege and birthright.

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Utopia: Religion

A number of religions exist in Utopia. They all are similar in that they believe in a single god, but the nature of that god is very different, ranging from a sort of animism, to worship of an ancient hero, to worship of the sun or moon, to belief in a single omnipotent, ineffable god. This last religion, according to Hythloday, is in the process of becoming dominant, though all the religions practice complete tolerance of all the other religions.

After Hythloday and his fellows spoke to the Utopians about Christ, a good number converted and began to learn as much as they could. These converts also were treated with the utmost respect by the faithful of other Utopian religions. In fact, the only belief that is not tolerated is atheism, as it is seen as immoral. If someone believes there is no afterlife, according to the Utopians, then that person will act selfishly in search of immediate physical and mental pleasure and not act virtuously in hope of future reward.

The different religions meet in the same churches run by the same priests, and services emphasize the similarities between the religions. If some religion demands a rite or prayer that might be offensive to another, then that rite must be performed in a home in private, not in the church.

Utopian priests are men of the highest moral and religious caliber, and, accordingly, there are very few of them. Almost no women are priests, but it is allowed that a woman could become a priest. Priests maintain the religious centers, educate the children, and praise good behavior while criticizing bad.

The priests hold the highest power in the land; even the chief executive must listen to them. Before major religious holidays, women prostrate themselves before there husbands, and children before their parents, and all admit their wrongdoings. It is only with a clear conscience that people may attend services. At services all are attentive and incredibly respectful of the priests, and all acknowledge God to be their maker and ruler.

Commentary

It is hard to reconcile the almost absolute toleration advocated by Utopia with the fact that as Chancellor, Sir Thomas More played a central role in intensifying the persecution of Protestants. Perhaps all that can be done is to quote Hythloday’s comment on the likelihood that a Utopian priest might become unjust or act irreligiously, “for human nature is subject to change.”

It is interesting to note, that Utopia preached toleration in a time just before the Reformation, while Thomas More began to persecute Protestants after the Reformation had attained full flower. Biographical information aside, the toleration described in Utopia has a corollary in the writings of Erasmus, who went so far as to claim a sort of brotherhood with Muslims, claiming them as half-Christians and seeing in them less corruption than he often saw in Christians.

The Utopian priests are quite obviously meant to criticize European priests. Utopia gives two related reasons why there are so few Utopian priests. First, as a means of keeping up respect for the office, the number of priests is limited. Second, Utopians did not believe many people were moral or just enough to fulfill the priestly role, and so not many were made priests.

In Europe, the venality, corruption, and often poor education of priests was a matter of public knowledge, humor, and criticism. The friar in Hythloday’s story of dinner with Cardinal Morton is a perfect example, a man who barely knew Latin and who was subject to intense and uncontrollable personal rages. The face of the church was its priests, and Utopia implicitly claims that the face of the Catholic Church was covered in numerous warts.

The religious treatment of women is also rather interesting. The practice in which women must prostrate themselves to their husbands and admit their failings while the husbands must do nothing in return but forgive seems highly unfair, and demonstrates an assumption of superiority in the men. This is not all that surprising given the gender situation in the sixteenth century under which women were subservient to first their father, then their husband. However, women in Utopia can become priests, and this would have been shocking to Sir Thomas More’s contemporaries. Even today, the Catholic Church does not allow female priests. At once, Utopia holds an implicit disregard for women, and offers them the chance at equality.

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Utopia is Dystopia

In order to find or create a utopia, you must also discover or create a dystopia. When there is a perfect place, an equally opposite place hides from within it. From the outside, utopia and dystopia can be clearly defined; a dystopia is a terrible place ruled by unrelenting dictators forcing slavery and their ideas upon the population while a utopia is a perfect, ideal place to live in for any man or woman.

The line between utopia and dystopia is actually blurred as the truth behind utopias allow dystopias to exist. In the book, “Brave New World”, the line between utopia and dystopia is blurred as the reader can easily tell it is dystopian society, whereas the people of the society see it as the perfect society. In the same way, the short story “Harrison Bergeron” shares this quality, as to the viewer, they are a dystopian society with the government controlling and handicapping people, while to themselves, they are a utopia as they are creating a world where everybody is equal. A dystopia hides in the shadows and underbelly of every utopia as the line between the two is continually being blurred.

Most utopias will hide as illusions in a society. To the outsider, there may be slavery and poverty forced by thier rulers, but on the inside, the people are extremely well off as they believe they live in a truly perfect place. We can see evidence of this in the book “Brave New World”, as for the powerful and higher class “alphas” to be able to live in their utopia, the lower class “deltas” and “epsilons” must be forced to do menial and stressful work.

These people are forced into jobs that they were designed to do from the very beginning without a choice. They are essentially slaves to the higher class, and yet, they do not believe they are slaves as they have been forced by their rulers to believe they are happy and live in a perfect place. In the same manner as “Brave New World”, the citizens of “Harrison Bergeron” are lead on to believe the life they live is fair.

Each citizen is burdened with a handicap that hinders their ability to do anything. The idea of no one being better than another person is a common theme in the making of a utopia, but equality is not always achievable. When handicaps are forced upon people, their individuality get taken away.. The desire for equality seems good for people like Hazel and George, but for people like Harrison and the ballerina, having their individuality stripped away shows the control that the government has over the society and their ability to strip their citizens of their freedom and sense of identity.

The idea of a society being a utopia blinds people from seeing their unique, and special abilities. This can be seen in the book “Brave New World”, as the citizens of the society are content to being under the strict control of the government and do not know what it means to really be happy and be themselves. The people are controlled by their desire for pleasure and are conditioned to believe they are free.

In actuality though, they are enslaved by their passion in a world driven by instant pleasure and gratuitous sex. In the same vein, the society of “Harrison Bergeron” prevents a person from being able to be unique and be able to reach their full potential. An example would be when the ballerinas were forced to dance with heavy weights on. These dancers are not able to dance to their fullest potential due to the weights that they are required to wear and are encouraged to conform to society’s view of “average”. Harrison and the ballerinas dance is a symbol for the potential freedom that the citizens of the society could have.

A utopia cannot exist without sacrificing what makes humanity so truly wonderful as a whole; free will. The ability to decide for ourselves if we will walk in the sun or cower in the shadows. The ability to determine for ourselves how we will shape our own destiny towards whatever hopes and dreams we cling to. The idea that we, as people, are ultimately heroic in an age when heroes and legends don’t truly exist. In comparison, both “Brave New World” and “Harrison Bergeron” undermine this ideology as their respective governments force their hands against the free speech of their people.

The society of “Brave New World” is an illusion of a perfect world as people experience constant censorship and government control with, for example, citizens being exiled to Iceland for speaking out against the government and for stating their own personal opinion. Additionally, the people of “Brave New World” are told to believe in science and innovation and yet, they are not allowed to research anything that would disrupt the balance of the society.

The people are unable to express their thoughts and explore alternative ideas that do not conform to the society’s standard of living as they live in a society that disallows free thought. Likewise, the society of “Harrison Bergeron” states that free will and insubordination towards the government will not be tolerated as everyone needs to be equal, whether it is desired or not. Everyone being equal means nobody has any free thought or free will. They are obligated to be equal with one another as equality is the focus of life.

“Harrison Bergeron” is a great example of a story that depicts governmental dictation and lack of free will. Within this story, equality is the focus of life. The government formulated handicaps so that everyone would be equal, no matter how talented he or she is. That restriction of free will is the main theme of the short story, and Vonnegut goes into great detail about them. “Such methods of control include mental handicap radios in ears which emit ghastly sounds to interrupt and control thought, masks which conceal exceptionally attractive faces and clothing which does the same for bodies, and weights that the physically strong carry at all times, like handicaps for horses.”

From the moment a utopia is established, the simple need to sustain a society would immediately lead towards a dystopia. Maintaining a perfect society where all human needs are met would require the suppression of thoughts, people, and their behaviour. People are naturally competitive, ambitious, and aggressive. This implies that a society where there is no power imbalances, struggle, and pain is a society that is unsustainable. A utopia would seek to remove these sources of inequality and division, but would have to use increasingly oppressive dystopian methods to enforce the system.

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The Influence of Renaissance and Reform in Thomas Mores Book Utopia

When Thomas More wrote his book Utopia the influence of Renaissance and Reform had been spreading its influence over Europe and England. The Renaiisance movement has in its roots the rejuvanation of the interest in ancient greek culture and the re-examination of the works of Plato.Another movement which made its repercussions be strongly felt all over the continent was the Reformation against which the Catholic church of the times was in fierce struggle to subdue its influence. One of the works which best reflects the vogue and the tensions of such a vacillating and volatile age as the sixteenth century was was More’s masterpiece Utopia. Most probably, More must have been inspired by the geographical explorations and especially Americo Vespuci’s personal records before he undertook the task of creating an imaginary world. As we know the discovery of new lands was the impelling force behind man’s inextinguishable desire to learn and find out new things. While crticising the english society and the period in which he lives, he uses the so-called memories of Hytholoday and makes him says what he wants to. He is in all senses an exact Renaissance man and the things which he takes criticises in Utopia are the things which a Renaiisance man also criticises.

In 16th century Europe there was great disappointment with the Catholic church. It had grown to become a corrupted institution which was more concerned with worldy matters and augmenting its wealth than attending to people’s spiritual needs. With the dissemination of these kind of thoughts and with the beginnig of the Reformation movement in Germany, protestanism and nationalism become stronger in Europe and England. When reformist thoughts and principles engulf England, More’s inconceivable opposition to reformist ideas end up in his execution. Whereas, in his Utopia More will stand against religious bigotry and defend ideas of religious and personal liberty. While the Catholic church gives women no place in society and mercilessly scorns them, More, by showing a type of man with his own free-conscience and able to stand on his own two feet will give women an equal position in the society. And quite naturally, More will look for a social solution in the past, ancient greece.

Although there are many ideas concerning Utopia, the most prevalent ones are two or three; the first is that it was meant for entertainment and that he states that there could be no way such a society could exist at the end of the book. The second thought is that More seriously intended to exhibit the corruptions in the society and that he intentionally used the old sailor Raphael not to be subject to any sort of indictment on the strenght of his ideas. So, it could be said that he was a supporter both of Humanism and Reformation. The things which he criticises can be categorised in four groups; social justice, governour class, social life and religion.

In the first book, he begins to criticise the social injustice and the wrong-doings of the governing class and relate its negative consequences which arise out of such circumstances. To him, kings of those times care more about conquests and wealth. Their sole concern is to annex new lands and to keep the citizens in those land in as much pressure as possible for his own safety. Their councilors only seek fame and wealth by flattery and deceit.Governers are strict and traditionalist and when they are presented with something new, all they do is praise their ancestors and wish to be like them unless they can find anything else to countervail attempts of innovation. Another great fault of the english governing class is their little care about social justice; though fertile lands can supply men with a means of living, they are ceded to the hands of few men who use it for sheep grazing.

Farmers who are deprived of their means of living and their homes turn out to become either beggars or thieves. And the english system of justice executes those who are stealing things to survive. This is nothing more than social injustice. Rulers should look for ways to provide people with means of living instead of taking strict measures. Killing thieves is not a remedy. A society in which national wealth is not equally allocated can never become happy; “So what happens? Each greedy individual preys on his native land like a malignant growth, absorbing field after field, and enclosing thousands of acres with a single fence. Result-hundreds of farmers are evicted. They are either cheated or bullied into giving up their property or systematically ill-treated until they are finally forced to sell. Whichever way it is done, out the poor creatures have to go, men and women, husbands and wives widows and orphans, mothers and tiny children, together with all their employees-whose great numbers are not a sign of wealth, but simply of the fact that you can not run a farm without plenty of manpower. Out they have to go from the homes that they know so well, and they can not find anywhere else to live.

Their whole stock of furniture would not fetch much of a price; even if they could afford to wait for a suitable offer. But they can not, so they get very little indeed for it.By the time they have bren wandering around for a bit, this little is all used up, and then what can they do but steal and be very properly hanged?” While More expounds upon these corruptions he also offers solutions through the introduction of his Utopia. For example,ın Utopia there is no problem with beggars or thieves because every single person is given a job.Cities meet one another’s needs and no one suffers from poverty owing to equal allocation of the sources of the country. They do not go after invading other lands;on the contrary they hate acts of violence and war.

In additon to that, he also criticises people’s over-indulgence in luxury and grandeur. In that period, expensive things brought from foreign countries were the concern of the aristocracy and there were special jobs just to meet such luxurious demands.In Utopia, since everyone was equal and no one felt the need to acquire extra wealth there were no such things. Such idle pursuits were nothing but a waste of time which can be well used to improve the mind.

“It is much the same with jewels. There are pearls to be found on the beaches, diamonds and garnets on certain types of rock-but they never bother to look for them.However, if they happen to come across one, they pick it up and polish it for some toddler to wear.” So, they cared about neither precious things nor the satisfaction of bodily desires. That is why there are no such things like brothels or theatres in Utopia. Every one had his own particular occupation which fitted in well with his abilities. Whereas, in sixteenth century england, the nobility did not work and they made their living through the labours of the working class. For this reason he criticises the noble-peasant discrimination. Whereas, in societies where we have the idle-labourer discrimination, there is only a small class who has got money.

Since More was against Reformers in actual life or at least he kept the thought that reformation could lead to the sweeping of the continent by bloody wars and vengeance, he was executed for the crime of treason. Whereas he draws a quite different picture in Utopia and invects against the various religious corruptions of the time.As opposed to the Catholic idea of punishing the body, he presents the Utopians in a different fashion. They are in favour of keeping the mind busy. They are away from fundamentalism in religion. They seek to enjoy life. They try to respond to the nedds of both the body and the soul in a moderate way, without going into extremes.

While Christianity bans suicide, they find it more humanist that one should use his right of euthanasia instead of suffering in pain to death. He also takes a strong stand against religious bigotry.He criticises such things like astrology which he finds superstituous. That is why we can not find degenerated forms of religion in Utopia. They believe in the collaboration of reason and religion. There were also a lot more religious men than needed in the period and most of them survived through doing nothing but exploiting the religious beliefs of the vulgar class.Priests of the period rejected any other forms of thought which were not included in the Bible. The institution of religion was a monarchy in itself. More who is against this keeps the number of priests very limited in Utopia;in every city there are 13 priests and in the whole country there is only one master priest.There is also tolerance in religion.

People may have whatever religion they like.Utopians are against the subversive sides of religion as there is one common pray at the end of each worshipping. They tend to tolerate it even if there is something wrong about a religion which certain people cherish. They prefer this tolerance to people who are saying things they do not believe in out of fear. One common thing about their religious beliefs is the existence of god and the immortality of the soul. Apart from that, there is no official interference in what people believe in.

“The first principle is that every soul is immortal, and was created by a kind God, who meant it to be happy. The second is that we shall be rewarded or punished in the next world for our good or bad behaviour in this one. Although these are religious principles, the Utopians find rational grounds for accepting them.” One of the major problems of the Middle Ages was the confinement of education to a certain exclusive class.As most of the public was busy with doing daily chores, like tilling the soil, they had neither time nor money to get education. Education was within the control of a small section of privileged people who had nothing else to do than spend their time in reading and studying. More explicitly states his opposition against this kind of system in Utopia.Utopians only did necessary things. There did not exist a certain class which dealt with heavy labour. Anyway, they put more importance in the improvement of the mind than the body.

So,when there was a surplus of production, the working hours were reduced to a certain extent and the extra time was used to read and learn. The structure which he established in Utopia might seem like a huge revolution in his own time. He also introduced brand new changes to the social life. In sixteenth century England, women were relegated to a very low position in society. They almost had no social right and did not participate in social activities. Woman was considered to be an evil creature who was tempting men from their righteous path. That is why they were cast out of society. Even though he does not grant them such huge rights, they might be considered as revolutionary in comparison with his time.He gave them the right to divorce in cases of being fooled by their husbands, also the right to work and make money.

In conclusion, More’s Utopia has a perfect structure of ruling without a place for kings. There is tolerance, the right of education and respect for knowledge in the country. The most important of all is that every one contributes equally to the national budget.Whereas, in More’s time, there is religious tension and political instability, there is a large amount of poor people deprived of all the things which make us humans. Most people wate their time in idleness. So,we can say that More,as a humanist, criticises England in all ways possible;socially,economically and politically.And in this period of contradictions, he also dies in a contradictory way.

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The Philosophical Ideas of a Perfect Society in the Book, Utopia by Thomas More

In Utopia Thomas More overtly addresses philosophical ideas about how a perfect society would function. Many of the ideas are unrealistic for his time though and he acknowledges them as such. However, More does address issues in the England of his day in a more covert manner. This is mostly clearly laid out in More’s first conversation with Raphael Hytholday in the book. Hytholday speaks of his time in England. While there he has a conversation with the current chancellor, Archbishop John Morton, and Morton’s cronies. They speak on the subject thieves and their punishment.

Hytholday believes that English thieves, who are hanged for their crimes, are dealt with to severely. He articulates how poor Englishmen have all of their opportunities taken from them and are therefore forced in to the occupation of thieving. I his opinion the main cause for this happening is the injustice of enclosure. Enclosure is the practice by which the rich and noble of More’s Britain were seizing land that peasants had been using to raises their crops and livestock. Prior to the large scale adoption of this practice in the 15th and 16th centuries, the land being taken had been common land under the open-field system.

As price of wool shot up during this era, sheep farming became both more popular and profitable. Shepherding however required more land than most other agricultural ventures of the time. Those with the means to afford it could seize land under the protection of Parliament, leaving the peasantry who had formerly worked said land destitute. More used his book Utopia to speak out against the English policy of enclosure which he perceived as unfair. In fact, his tactic was actually successful and Parliament began investigating the negative effects of enclosure soon after the publishing of the book.

While Hytholday and Chancellor Morton’s early conversation is the most easily perceived reference, the topic is broached more surreptitiously again throughout the work. One of the most distinctive features of the Utopians described within the work is their idea of common property. The Utopian system imitates the previously used English system with a more extreme approach. In Utopia there is no private property and the land is shared by everyone. This applies to everything on the island not just some farm land like in England. Raphael contends that this notion of shared land brings the Utopians their prosperity He states that “wherever you have private property … it’s all but impossible for a community to be just or prosperous” (More 51-52).

The direction that England heads in Thomas More’s time seem to be opposite of this “just and prosperous ideal”. Not every word written in this text advocates this communist ideal. More’s avatar within the work argues against Hytholday on the merits of the English privatized system created by enclosure over the lofty Utopian system. The character of More contends that private gain motivates men. With common property and the sharing of land and resources by all men laborers will become lazy and let others work for them, resulting in the breakdown of society.

Furthermore he states that most of Hytholday’s philosophical conjecture is not applicable in real world situations. He recalls the Greek philosopher Plato’s observation that “wise men rightly steer clear of public affairs” (More 51). Hytholday defends the common property system (and therefore derides the English enclosure policy) through his description of how the system functions smoothly on the isle of Utopia. The final detail illustrating how Utopian society contrast the society of modern England is in the geography. The island of Utopia is roughly the same size and shape of that of the island of Great Britain.

The capital city of Amaurot has a layout and architecture very similar to that of London and the River Anyder takes the place of the English River Thames. More purposefully made the two locations similar to each other in order to more obviously draw comparisons between the two societies. Sir Thomas More wrote his book Utopia to express philosophical ideas. This, however, wasn’t his only reason he also wished to address inequality in modern England through his tale. More addresses issues of inequality he sees in the enclosure system of his contemporary England through Utopia.

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The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy

Cameron Gilmore Professor Stephen Ferguson Liberal Studies 202 14 September 2012 The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy In this paper, I will analyze Stephen Ferguson’s article “The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy”. Throughout Ferguson’s article he discusses the limitations of Afrocentrism and the negative effects it may cause because of the beliefs and ideas expressed from the philosophical view.

Following the summary of the article’s main points and themes, I shall expound upon the article’s erudite theme, while illuminating the author’s generalization of this “worldview”. Ferguson introduces the reader to the article with a poem entitled Heritage by Countee Cullen. While Ferguson only includes the first stanza of that poem, the entirety of the poem somewhat relates to the view of Afrocentrism in how Cullen articulates the beauty of Africa, but by the end of the poem the mood has changed to Cullen’s current life and how it has changed.

Like the poem the main point of the article is that Afrocentrism may be something of a good thing, but it cannot be any good to history if it is only based of off of “fantasy or fairy tale” as Ferguson states. There are many examples on the claims that are made on Afrocentrism and how it clouds the rich African-American or African heritage.

One line from the passage says, “…[the Afrocentric quest for an authentic past] ignores the fact that the Pharaohs in conjunction with the priests were an oppressive and exploitative aristocracy. Dreaming of what Kwame Nkrumah termed an idyllic African classless society is a wrong-headed approach for Black Studies” (Ferguson). I found that this strongly demonstrates how farfetched ideas may become, mostly, when Afrocentrism becomes just a ploy to console the African-American race from times of struggle or disparity.

Along with the negative side of the Afrocentric view, Ferguson greatly details on how it is even more important to read, research, learn and teach all parts of history; in which, he includes a cited passage, The Mis-Education of the Negro, written by Carter G. Woodson which basically says that it is important to read about great historic heroes such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but it is just as important to read about the slaves that provided all the labor that contributed and made this country what it is today.

One final theme that I received from the article is that like today’s Eurocentric view, which is also full of fallacy, Afrocentrism would not be too far from it with all the misleading and misguided illustrations, as opposed to simply researching and collecting facts, like this quote from Carter G. Woodson used in the article, “ ‘race prejudice was based on wide-spread ignorance’ and that ‘carefully gathered scientific proof’ would eliminate it” (Ferguson).

Throughout this review of Ferguson’s “The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy”, I have discussed the author’s main points which I believe are that Afrocentrism is frequently filled with ideal views and utopian ideas, that African-Americans used these ideas at times of hardship to uplift the race, that it is just as important to research and learn about European history as well as every other history and that just as Eurocentrism can be cloudy in terms of actuality, so can Afrocentrism.

I would have to honestly agree with all of these points, especially after the given details and examples, however I do fear that the author has made a generalization of this Afrocentric view. I believe that many people nowadays know of the oppression faced during the era of Ancient Egypt and Africa, and those phrases and terms given by early generation African-Americans which fed to the false ideas to Afrocentrism have been proven to be exaggeration.

In conclusion, I have reasoned that while Ferguson has given great details and is right on his claims, this does not mean that they are widely believed as much as his says, which in turn gives of a since of generalization.

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Utopia-Religon

Thomas More wrote Utopia a few years before the Protestant Reformation, during a period rife with religious instability. Not everyone trusted the corrupt Roman Catholic Church, and many Europeans looked elsewhere for their religious inspiration. Though the Utopian religion has some similarities with Catholicism and Protestantism, it is an entirely unique belief system uninfluenced by the numerous European faiths of the period. The main thing the sets the utopian religion apart Is its complete religious tolerance.

While all the utopian religions are monotheistic and all their god by a general Utopian term of Matthias, they disagree on who exactly Matthias is. The only belief that is not allowed is atheism. Utopians feel that if an individual does not think that he Is responsible for his actions, and that there Is one Supreme Being who controls the world, then there is nothing to stop him from breaking laws and causing disorder. The Utopians don’t believe in predestination like many sects of Protestantism does.

All the religions meet at one church and serve under the same priest. In church one is not allowed to say anything that’s offensive to another religion because of on early Utopian law saying that no one should suffer or be made uncomfortable due to his religion. A Utopian can try to convert others to their religion if they are able to present their argument calmly and reasonably. All this is very deferent from any of the European religions, who were constantly going to war with each other In the name of god.

Catholic kings would go on crusades against the Muslims; Jews during the Spanish Inquisition were kicked at of their homes and persecuted for believing differently, and after the protestant reformation Catholics ND Protestants had years of bloody warfare. Even the religious leaders themselves would start war, such as when Luther declared war on the Jews and the peasants. Religious tolerance was something that didn’t come to Europe until much later. Another thing that shows the uniqueness of the utopian religion is the way they elect and serve their priests. Priests are chosen by the people in a secret election.

Unlike Catholics and Protestants who have numerous corrupt priests, utopians have very few, because of difficulty finding someone moral enough for the Job. The Priest Is also he highest power in the land. This is very opposite of Protestants, who believe in a “priesthood of all Believers” that the priest is equal to the parishioner. Priests, similar to Lutheran are allowed to marry, and their wives are treated like high members of society. Priest also cannot be punished for crime, utopians believe that someone who dedicated himself to god can only be punished by god himself and not through human hands.

A widowed elderly woman is also allowed to become priest which is something that’s not allowed by any other religion. The priest also went to war with he utopians for the purpose of Inspiring the troops, preventing excess killing, and pacifying the enemy’s vengeance. The utopians worship their god in a very unique way. In church they do not sacrifice any animals because they do not think that a merciful god would enjoy senseless bloodshed. This shows how the Utopians would not have approved of the flagellant movement In the fourteenth century.

The flagellants were groups of clerics that would go from town to town and whip their bare skin to inspire public repentance. If the Utopians wouldn’t even draw an 1 OFF animal’s b tort no reason they would never nave approved to hurting oneself tort a oddly purpose. The Utopians do burn incense, because they feel that the scent somehow raises people’s thoughts. They do not burn them for god because they know he has no use for such things. Similar to the Protestants the Utopians don’t focus on acts of devotion. The Utopians, unlike the Catholics, have no visual representations of god anywhere. They also don’t believe in omens and fortune telling.

Their calendar, like the Catholic one, is based on a solar year divided into lunar months. The Utopian religion has a confusing stance on female equality. On the one hand they allow woman to become priests which is something that’s unheard of in any of the European religions, but they also make woman confess all there wrong doings to their husbands before any holiday. They give woman a chance at equality, but then also show them how they are inferior to their husbands. While this does seem paradoxical, it does offer more gender equality than any other religion. The Utopians are also hypocritical with their religious punishments.

They have a law eying a priest cannot punish a sinner because that is the Job of the government. The most drastic punishment they allow the priest to give is excommunication. Yet if the excommunicated one does not convince the priest that he is reformed, he is arrested and punished by the counsel for sinfulness. So the priest technically has the power to punish in a very roundabout but powerful way. He can decide who is reformed or not and through that he is given the power to imprison. If a counsel can arrest and try an individual for impiety, doesn’t that mean a person is suffering because of their elision.

This proves that although the Utopians say they offer complete religious freedom, a person can still suffer because of his beliefs. The truly devout Utopians do one of two things. The holier ones take vows of chastity similar to the Catholics, and eat a very strict diet consisting of no meat. The less holy yet more admired ones take upon themselves heavy labor that will benefit the community. It is more admired in Utopia to do heavy work for the community then to live a life of chastity. This is very different from the Catholic mentality.

Catholics admire priests as holy and serve them only because the priest was able to devote his life purely to god and give up human desires. The peasants who spend the whole day doing backbreaking labor are viewed as the lowest of society even though what they do greatly benefits everyone else. Thomas More would not have though the Utopian religion was ideal. More himself was a devote Catholic who even died for his faith. He played an integral role as Lord Chancellor in persecuting the Protestants after the reformation. He would not have proved of the complete religious toleration of the Utopians.

Also the Utopian laws allowing euthanasia, divorce, and married and female priests are completely against the teachings of the Catholic Church. He wrote Utopia as a way of criticizing the Catholic Church for all of its corruptions not as a blueprint for a new religion. At the end of the book More says that while Hathaway was speaking he kept thinking how some of the Utopian laws were Just bizarre. He says “quite apart from such things as their military tactics, religions, and forms of worship, there was a grand absurdity on which their whole society is based, communism without money. (Utopia 113) This quote proves how Mores intention in writing Utopia was not to create a new way of life, but to criticize the fraudulent doings of contemporary European society. Although Utopia is championed as the ideal place to live there has yet to be a country that NAS tried to mimic its way to elite. Even More himself would nave rejected its unique religion. But regardless of its desirability, the Utopian religion has proven to be a completely unique belief system uninfluenced by contemporary religious beliefs.

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