Utopia - The Impossibility of Perfection Essay example

Utopia - The Impossibility of Perfection The latter end of [this] commonwealth forgets the beginning. ?William Shakespeare, The Tempest From Platos The Republic to Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto, the search for a perfect social state has never stopped; its ultimate goal of achieving a human society that exists in absolute harmony with all due social justice, however, has proved to be woefully elusive. The pure concept of a utopia can be theoretically visualized as a perfect geometric circle: one that is seamless, all-inclusive, yet impossible to draw out in reality. In 1516, Sir Thomas More depicted in his famed Utopia what he envisioned to be an ideal state?one that frees its citizens from material worries by mandating†¦show more content†¦what else is this, I ask, but first making them thieves and then punishing them for it? (More 14) What, then, is the root of all these evils? According to Hythloday, it is the economic system that is built upon the fundamental principle of private ownership: So long as private property remains, there is no hope at all of effecting a cure and restoring society to good health (More, 29) Utopia has no currency, no use for precious metals or luxury of any sort, and most importantly abolishes private ownership. The result, as Hythloday mythically describes it, is a perfect world in which people leave in accord because they are cut off from the source of greed and envy. In this world, people develop a complete detachment to the unnecessary material life because they do not own anything except for their own bodies. Yet despite its apparent seamlessness, this theory is doomed to fall apart when it is subjected to examination from the capitalistic perspective. When the fictional More, the representation of the authors other philosophical half, raises the questionShow MoreRelatedEssay abou t There is no Universal Utopia1608 Words   |  7 PagesThe idea of a utopia is one which has spanned many millennia. The first example of a utopia was the Garden of Eden, and since then mankind has endeavored to reach this perfect existence, a world without problems, where everyone can abide in peace. Just the word ‘Utopia’ summons up a whole assemblage of images, images which differ from person to person. This is why the concept of a utopia has been so tossed around, because no one can truly say what a utopia is. From Platos republic in 380BC rightRead MoreThe Impossible Utopia Essay828 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Jungwon Kim Mrs. Griffith English 10 GT 1 April, 2014 The Impossible Utopia â€Å"History consists of a series of swindles, in which he masses are first lured into revolt by the promise of utopia, and then, when they have done their job, enslaved over again by new masters† (Brander). Animal Farm, a farm with animals that are treated cruelly and dream for a better life in which animals are all equal and independent of depraved humans, is an allegory of the development of communism, even totalitarianismRead MoreA Utopia Sounds Like A Wonderful Thing1433 Words   |  6 PagesFYS Final A utopia sounds like a wonderful thing. The Oxford English Dictionary defines â€Å"utopia† as an â€Å"imagined or hypothetical place, system, or state of existence in which everything is perfect, esp. in respect of social structure, laws, and politics.† (OED, 2015, entry 2) But what happens when someone tries to bring this imagined land of perfection into reality? Both in fictional literature and in real life applications, utopian dreams destroy societies. The word utopia originates from SirRead MoreImmanuel Kant Paper1883 Words   |  8 Pagesdegradation to any ethical relativism, which causes this degradation of morality. He tried to create the highest form of estimation of the ethical principles that managed morality? For he believed that the degradation of morality starts from, the impossibility to evaluate what is really wrong or right. Here, is the point where Immanuel Kant enters the definition of the notion â€Å"good will†. Kant explains what a â€Å"good will† is and what difference it makes in the perception of the moral actions that a personRead MoreSelf-Actualizing Through Loving Others1685 Words   |  7 Pagesfind adventure with Jody (Kubitscheck). She risks everything, desperately searching for this utopia. During their escape, Janie doubts the possibility of perfection, feeling far away from things and lonely (Hurston 46). Badly disappointed, Janie’s wish for utopia vanishes leaving her feeling a lone. She has everything, yet nothing, as she expected more than she could get. Once in this so-called utopia, Janie finds out how impossible this idea really is. She realizes how selfish the people stillRead MoreKarl Marx And Sigmund Freud Essay1476 Words   |  6 PagesConsequently, Freud affirms that â€Å"what decides the purpose of life is simply the program of the pleasure principle.† (10-27). Assuming the veracity of Freud’s argument, it is easy to understand the defectiveness of the logic behind Marx’s grand Communist utopia; no matter what system of government is in place, no matter which class holds that means of production, peace and harmony will never be achieved because perfect peace and harmony are incongruous with human nature. Freud reproaches Marx, writing, â€Å"TheRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Tragicomedy The Tempest1935 Words   |  8 Pagesidyllic utopia. Gonzalo describes a world ‘Without sweat or endeavor. Treason, felony,/Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine,/Would I not have’ and the utopia is paired with undertones of irony; Sebastian and Antonio’s remarks satirize Gonzalo’s ideal, commenting that ‘The latter end of his commonwealth forgets/ the beginning.’ The irony, although serving a satirical purpose, also works to lament the impossibility of such a pastoral existence. Shakespeare i s aware of this impossibility, yetRead MoreSir Thomas More2112 Words   |  9 PagesSir Thomas More- UTOPIA Sir Thomas More, son of Sir John More, a justice of King’s Bench, after his earlier education at St. Anthony’s, he was placed, as a boy, in the household of Cardinal John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor. It was not usual for persons of wealth or influence and sons of good families to be so established together in a relation of patron and client. The youth wore his patron’s livery, and added to his state. The patron used, afterwards, his wealth orRead MoreEssay Utopia4252 Words   |  18 PagesUtopia In the year 1515, a book in Latin text was published which became the most significant and controversial text ever written in the field of political science. Entitled, ‘DE OPTIMO REIPUBLICATE STATU DEQUE NOVA INSULA UTOPIA, clarissimi disertissimique viri THOMAE MORI inclutae civitatis Londinensis civis et Vicecomitis’, translated into English would read, ‘ON THE BEST STATE OF A COMMONWEALTH AND ON THE NEW ISLAND OF UTOPIA, by the Most Distinguished and Eloquent Author THOMAS MORERead MoreMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 PagesJakobson. The machine has ground up human language and dispenses it in clean slices, to which no flesh clings. Those binary digits, perfect segments, have/only to be assembled (programed) in the requisite order. The code triumphs and attains its perfection in the transmission of the message. It is a great feast for the syntagmatic mentality. There are other examples. An artificial limb is to the leg as the cybernetic message is to the human sentence. And why not mention —for amusement and a change