-Utopia

More’s seminal work is the origin of the term “utopia,” describing an ideal place or state of life. Utopia derives from Greek, meaning “no place,” and share its pronunciation with the Greek word “eutopia” which means “good place.” He imagined Utopia as a crescent-shaped island off the Atlantic coast of Latin America, consisting of 54 towns of identical size, with a capital at the center of the island. More’s Utopian society is based around productive labor, particularly agricultural, in which all inhabitants take part. However, he did imagine each household employing two enslaved people who were either criminals or foreigners. This system, with communal rather than private ownership of property, eliminates poverty and ensures that all inhabitants’ needs are met. Utopia is not militaristic, preferring bloodless military victories when absolutely necessary. Utopia is a republic governed by a hierarchy of elected officials, whose primary job is the organization of labor. More also incorporates religious toleration into his ideal society.

Many of the idealistic aspects of More’s Utopia are the subject of study given his persecution of Protestant Christians and his ultimate execution for rejecting King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. While similar works of imagined idyllic places were written throughout the medieval era, More’s work came to define an entire genre of literature and was hugely influential on subsequent fiction, as can be seen by the other utopian works on display.