Take-Aways Preface on an Allegedly True Story from the Island of Utopia What It’s About Ideal Society and Ideal State

Contempt for Wealth

The towns distribute all that they produce to dedicated depots, where people can take whatever they need. There is no money economy. Nobody takes more than he or she needs, because nobody lives in fear of deprivation. The sick receive care in well-furnished hospitals that keep exemplary hygienic standards. The Utopians excel in medical care and are much renowned for their skills. They suggest euthanasia to the terminally ill, yet don’t force them into it. If they aren’t needed at home, Utopians may travel upon obtaining leave from the Archphilarch. But if they are caught rambling around the country without a passport, they are treated as fugitives and punished with slavery.

There are no slaughterhouses within the city walls – for hygienic reasons, but also so the act of killing remains foreign to the citizenry. This is why the slaughtering of animals is entirely left to slaves. The Utopians export everything they don’t need themselves and give the seventh part of these goods to the poor of the countries receiving them. Utopians have earned a vast gold treasure with their exports, knowing that they can bribe all their enemies and thereby prevent wars. When there’s no way to dodge a fight, they enlist foreign mercenaries with the money to protect their own people from the danger of military service. Utopians value iron more than gold, having such an abundance and no good use for gold that they think of the shiny metal as tacky. When they see a stranger adorned with gold, they take him for a poor wretch. They hold gold in such low esteem that they make fetters and chains for their slaves out of it, as well as chamber pots.

Utopian Ethics

The Utopians live by the pleasure principle – that is, the pleasure to live naturally, reasonably, sensibly and in harmony with the community. It’s generally considered better to enjoy doing good than to chase arbitrary amusements. Such pleasures may guarantee short-term happiness but result in the compulsive need to seek the fulfillment of sensual desires over and over again. According to Utopian ethics, this deprives men of freedom. They don’t know aristocratic indulgences like hunting. In their view, it is plain wrong to kill animals for pleasure and flaunt elegance at the same time; they leave the killing to the butchers, who are all slaves. Utopians punish adultery severely, because they believe that disorderly mating undermines the institution of marriage in the long run. The most common sentence for severe crimes tends to be enslavement, because forced labor brings more to the commonwealth than capital punishment. The Utopians are tolerant in religious matters, believing that each person should pursue his personal way of achieving happiness. This is why they resist excessive missionary work and sectarianism. They believe in immortality and therefore feel sorry for the sick but not for the dying.

Hythloday ends his report by praising this ideal state and social system. More implies that he doesn’t endorse all the Utopian institutions. But he leaves it at that, refraining from criticizing it in detail.