Primary Sources: "Utopia" by Thomas More

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1 Primary Sources: "Utopia" by Thomas More By Thomas More, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 894 Level 1050L TOP: A painting of Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger. Wikimedia Commons. BOTTOM: The Island of Utopia, from a woodcut in More's "Utopia." Wikimedia Commons. Editor's Note: Below is a part of "Utopia," a book published by Thomas More in Utopia starts as a work of fiction, telling a tale of a faraway island named Utopia, which More presents as a blueprint of an ideal society. More's story concludes with a criticism of the inequalities of English society and asks for major changes in England. More argued for a society where private property, like owning homes or land, wouldn't exist and therefore neither would greed. More coined the name Utopia by punning on the Greek words for no place and good place. More was a distinguished statesman and scholar. But he was beheaded in 1535 for opposing the English king s plan to separate from the Catholic Church. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 1

2 "No One Has Any Fear Of Going Short" To my mind, Utopia is the best country in the world, and the only one that can call itself a republic. Elsewhere, people are always talking about the public interest. However, all they really care about is private property. In Utopia, there is no private property, so people take their duty to the public seriously. In other republics, everyone needs to look out for themselves no matter how successful the country is overall. That means they put their own interests over those of other people. But in Utopia, no one has any fear of going short as long as the public storehouses are full. Everyone gets a fair share, so there are never any poor men or beggars. Nobody owns anything, but everyone is rich. After all, what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind and freedom from anxiety? I cannot see the slightest trace of justice in other countries. People like rich aristocrats or people who lend money do no work at all or do work that s not essential. They are rewarded for their laziness with a life of luxury. But laborers, coachmen, carpenters and farmhands, who never stop working at essential jobs, get little to eat and have a wretched time. They are This article is available at 5 reading levels at 2

3 ground down and also worried to death by the prospect of a poverty-stricken old age. After all, their daily wages aren t enough to support them for one day, let alone leave anything saved up. "A Conspiracy Of The Rich To Advance Their Own Interests" The climax of ingratitude comes when the farmhands, coal-heavers, laborers and carpenters are old and ill and completely poor. Without them society couldn't exist. Still, having taken advantage of them throughout their lives, society now forgets their work and repays them by letting them die in misery. The man who contributes most to society gets the least in return. I can't consider any social system in the modern world anything but a conspiracy of the rich to advance their own interests. They think up all sorts of tricks to keep their money and to take advantage of the poor. And yet how much happier even these people would be in Utopia! The abolition of money and the end of the passion for money would lead to many other social problems being solved and many crimes eradicated! For the end of money means the end of fraud, theft, burglary, brawls, riots, disputes, rebellion, murder, treason and black magic. And the moment money goes, you can also say goodbye to fear, tension, anxiety, overwork and sleepless nights. Poverty itself would promptly disappear if money ceased to exist. "Pride Is Always Obstructing Our Progress" Let me try to make this point clearer. Just think back to one of the years when the harvest was bad and thousands of people died of starvation. Well, I bet if you d inspected every rich man s barn at the end of that period you d have found enough corn to have saved all the lives that were lost. Money was invented to make food more readily available. Instead, it s the only thing that makes it unobtainable. I m sure that even the rich are well aware of all this and realize how much better it would be without money. Then, they would not have things they didn't need. And I ve no doubt that either self-interest or the authority of our savior, Christ would have led the whole world to adopt the Utopian system long ago if it weren t for that beastly root of all evils, pride. For pride s measurement of prosperity is not what you ve got yourself, but what other people haven t got. Pride would refuse to set foot in paradise if she thought there would be no underprivileged classes there to gloat over and order around. Pride is always obstructing our progress toward a better way of life. "At Least One Country Has Managed To Develop A Fair System" This fault is too deeply ingrained in human nature to be easily eliminated. I m glad that at least one country has managed to develop a fair system. The Utopian way of life provides the happiest basis for a civilized community. It is also one which, in all human probability, will last forever. They ve eliminated the root causes of ambition, political conflict and everything like This article is available at 5 reading levels at 3

4 that. And as long as there s unity and wise government in Utopia, no matter how envious neighboring kings may feel, they ll never be able to shake the power of Utopia. They ve tried to do so often enough in the past, but have always been beaten back. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 4

5 Quiz 1 Which section of the text BEST explains that money causes many different problems in society? (A) (B) (C) (D) "No One Has Any Fear Of Going Short" "A Conspiracy Of The Rich To Advance Their Own Interests" "Pride Is Always Obstructing Our Progress" "At Least One Country Has Managed To Develop A Fair System" 2 Which sentence from the text suggests that the real world is unlikely to change? (A) (B) (C) (D) To my mind, Utopia is the best country in the world, and the only one that can call itself a republic. The climax of ingratitude comes when the farmhands, coal-heavers, laborers and carpenters are old and ill and completely poor. I m sure that even the rich are well aware of all this and realize how much better it would be without money. This fault is too deeply ingrained in human nature to be easily eliminated. 3 Which two sentences from the text contain central ideas? 1. To my mind, Utopia is the best country in the world, and the only one that can call itself a republic. 2. People like rich aristocrats or people who lend money do no work at all or do work that s not essential. 3. I can't consider any social system in the modern world anything but a conspiracy of the rich to advance their own interests. 4. For pride s measurement of prosperity is not what you ve got yourself, but what other people haven t got. (A) 1 and 3 (B) 1 and 4 (C) 2 and 3 (D) 2 and 4 This article is available at 5 reading levels at 5

6 4 Read the following paragraph. Let me try to make this point clearer. Just think back to one of the years when the harvest was bad and thousands of people died of starvation. Well, I bet if you d inspected every rich man s barn at the end of that period you d have found enough corn to have saved all the lives that were lost. Money was invented to make food more readily available. Instead, it s the only thing that makes it unobtainable. How is a central idea developed in this paragraph? (A) (B) (C) (D) through an example of the inequality between rich and poor through a description of reasons for a bad harvest through an example of how many lives could be saved through a description of the invention of money This article is available at 5 reading levels at 6