Before engaging with Utopia and discussing More’s vision of a perfect system, it is important to highlight some of the flaws he identified and argued against that were in the monarchy. In very beginning of text he says that “ First of all, the princes themselves, almost all of them, are more devoted to military pursuits (in which I neither have nor desire any skill) than they are to the beneficent pursuits of peacetime; and they are far more interested in how to acquire new kingdoms by hook or crook than in how to govern well those they have already acquired”(Utopia, PG:16-17). Here, he illustrates that the leaders at the top of the system are already corrupt, as kings and rulers neglect their primary responsibility: ensuring the well-being of their people. More criticizes their focus on conquest and power over the ethical and practical duties of governance. This is just the beginning, as Raphael examines the problem of individual corruption and extends his analysis to the retainers, showing that the entire system—from top to bottom—is corrupt, inefficient, and frequently violent. It is worth mentioning that this discussion is caused by Raphael’s story about unfair punishments for theft, which is also a very important example, showing the flaws of the system that punishes the crime, which is essentially caused by it. His interest and deep understanding of morality and its applications in governing structure are well visible in his critique when he writes,“ Thus, in this matter, not only you but most of the world seem to imitate bad teachers who are more eager to beat their pupils than to instruct them. For heavy and horrible punishments are imposed on thieves when it would be much better to make some provision for their livelihood, so that no one should labor under the cruel necessity first of stealing and then of dying for it.”(Utopia PG18). These and many other examples from Utopia and The History of King Richard III illustrate and critique the ways in which authoritarian systems act against both individuals and society as a whole.
In Utopia, the critique of European society occupies the first half of the book, while the second half presents Raphael’s 5-year experience on an island called Utopia. Raphael tells all about Utopia and how Utopians achieve a “perfect” society through rational governance, equality, and justice. In this perfect island, social equality is maintained by abolishing private property and establishing communal ownership, which minimizes greed and social conflict. In addition, Utopians emphasize education, productive labor, religious tolerance, and the welfare of all citizens, reflecting humanist principles at the foundation of their society. These reforms collectively create an ideal society built on reason, morality, and the common good.
This form of government, which is achieved with specific reforms like the abolition of private property, has had a huge influence on the development of political views in Europe for the next 300 years after More’s death. Namely, one of the most influential socio-economic socialism, and later Marxism, envision worlds which have many things in common with More’s Utopia.
This model of government, established through reforms such as the abolition of private property, had a profound influence on the development of European political thought for centuries after More’s death. In particular, later socio-economic ideologies such as socialism and one of its branches, Marxism, drew inspiration from ideas that closely resemble those in More’s Utopia, including communal ownership, social equality, and the pursuit of collective well-being over individual gain(The Communist Inclinations of Sir Thomas More, PG 30). Even though Plato, before More, had the idea of collective property, More’s version had more concrete and applicable socio-economic aspects that later influenced 19th and 20th-century socialists to develop their views.
As a final note, it should be noted that More envisioned his Utopia as a goal for all societies, a place where he perfectly combined the teachings of Jerusalem and the teachings of Athens to create an ideal socio-political system, without greed, violence, and discrimination that he saw so much in firstly British and then his time European society.
Citation:
More, Thomas. The History of King Richard III. c. 1513–1518. Edited by Richard S. Sylvester, Yale University Press, 1963. The Complete Works of St. Thomas More, vol. 2.
More, Thomas. Utopia. 1516. Translated by Clarence H. Miller, Yale University Press, 2001.
(The Complete Works of St. Thomas More, vol. 4.)
Wegemer, Gerard. “Thomas More.” Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, Stanford University, 15 10 2023, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-more/#Aca. Accessed 16 10 2025.
Papke, David. the Communisitic Inclinations of Sir Thomas More. 10 Mar. 2016. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgiarticle=1006&context=utopia500