The Contrast of Thomas More's Utopia with Nowadays England - Essay Example

Reaction The approach of viewing Sir Thomas More’s Utopia on the lens of practicalism may have touched some important points of the work Utopia but were not able to completely grasp the essence of the work. In practicalism, what was discussed was the economic aspect of Utopia that man’s love for luxury and gold breeds the many ills of society among them greed and vanity. This is not to say that this assessment is wrong, but only incomplete. In the original work, it has to be considered that the discussion of Utopia was made against the backdrop of Charles VIII having a territorial dispute with Prince Charles of Castille.

Such, Utopia and its implication should not be taken solely on its economic basis because when Hythloday narrated his travel, it was in the midst of a dispute where King Charles diplomats were unable to immediately settle the dispute and was looking for possible solution to settle it and thus political in nature. Suffice to say, there was more to Utopia than its critique for man’s love of gold. Utopia as a society emphasized rationale thinking with a communal ownership of property (this was not mentioned in the article The Practicalism and Abandonment of Material Pursuit in Utopia) with high emphasis on morals with aversion towards war.

This was geared towards a productive society and the aversion towards golds and the trappings of life are only an aspect that is to avoided but not necessarily the core essence of More’s thesis in Utopia. Nevertheless, the article made an updated and insightful analysis how relevant More’s Utopia still is today especially with our consumerist tendency today where we are lured towards consumerism by advertisements that draw us into the trap of materialism which More have adequately described.