The ingenious Thomas More. "Utopia": a summary

Thomas More lived five hundred years ago. Scientific communism portrayed Utopian scientists as spineless, fantasizing people. Is it true? Thomas Moore took his death for his convictions, according to the recollections of the contemporary Erasmus of Rotterdam, without fear, without asking for mercy, without bowing his head. In 1535 a fifty-seven-year-old writer, humanist, philosopher refused to swear allegiance to the English king, thereby remaining loyal to the primacy of the Pope. His faith prevented double-dealing. Quietly walked on the scaffold Thomas More, the favorite of all London, an unrivaled speaker, respected for a subtle wit, a civil position, decency, capable of his word to stop the riot.

From the pen of just such a person (a humanist, but not a revolutionary!) Appeared the legendary book "Utopia". Thomas Moore addressed it to monarchs and scholars, specially for this purpose writing it in Latin as a novel-meditation, a novel-call for a humanistic reorganization of society based on social justice. 150 years later, Utopia was translated into all European languages.

The novel begins with an elegant "bridge" between truth and fiction-this is the tie of the book that Thomas More created, "Utopia." Its content is the story of a traveler "about unknown lands". A real historical character - Peter Egidius introduces the author to a fictional character Portuguese Rafail Gitpodei, an associate of the real traveler Amerigo Vespucci. In the mouth of Raphael, the writer puts all his thoughts on the arrangement of the ideal country of the future. Consistently conveys the ideas of the new social order in his book Thomas More - "Utopia". The summary of it can be described as a description of an unknown state - an island lost in the Indian Ocean. The political structure of Utopia is a federation run by the Senate, with the capital Amaurot, uniting 54 sovereign cities. Morality, in essence, corresponds to Christian-humanistic principles. Utopia is completely ideologically tolerant, guided by the principle of freedom of conscience.

Let us note that the idea of the book as a vision by the scientist Thomas Mor of the foundations of a future democratic society was born in conditions when feudal lords were executed for disobedience and the emerging bourgeois system was no less bloody, the mechanism of "wild capitalism" ruthlessly sent thousands of new peasants to the brink of poverty. It is precisely as a Christian protest of the scientist that Thomas More, the "Utopia", creates this oppression. The summary is a draft of the state, where discrimination is impossible in principle. To this end, Mor decides to deprive this society of the basis of inequality-classes. Also, the philosopher calls citizens both in rights and socially. The principle of state development is "full internal agreement". People volunteer for six hours on weekdays. Society cares so that they can enjoy life in their spare time, acquire spiritual freedom and education. At the same time, a social standard is a lifeless life. What is the "primary social unit of Utopia"? She is defined by the writer on the principle of the averaged workshop of the manufactory. According to the theory of Mora, every 40 peasant families constitute a "family" (commune). "Family" specializes in a certain craft, and the "transition" of a person between families is allowed. At the same time every Utopian is trained, besides his craft, in agriculture and is obliged to engage in peasant labor in a certain period of time. Peasant labor is the primary basis of the welfare of the state, says Thomas More ("Utopia") in his novel. The summary of the book clearly outlines the contours of a future democratic society. All power is elective. 30 families choose a philharche. 10 Philharmonians are under the control of the proto-philharmarch, who selects the scientist. Proto-philharches form city senates, choosing the prince (mayor). The most important economic and political issues are resolved by city assemblies. At the same meetings, officials are elected and their periodic reports are listened to. Spiritual persons, ambassadors, protophillars, the head of state are selected from among scientists.

A humanist is convinced: private property is evil. Such a belief came to Thomas Moore through his rich legal practice. He was not in general, but in concrete cases he could judge that it was private ownership of land that determined the possibility of genocide of peasants because of the benefits of sheep breeding ("sheep ate people"). To exclude such injustice, the author of the novel suggested that the means of production should belong to society. Accordingly, the measure of the distribution of national wealth in a new society should not be private property, but the expended labor of family-handicraft enterprises. Can we say that the first formulation of the principles of socialist society in the history was given by Thomas More ("Utopia")? The brief content of the book shows that, of course, it is not ideal, but it predicts the aspects of the organization of a future democratic society. Many of the foundations of the future of socialism are "unwarranted," which is not surprising, because the novel was written five hundred years ago! For example, in the society of the future there is practically no personal life of citizens. Travel from city to city must be accompanied by "removal of the citizen from the register" and "registration". Looks somehow unconvincing.

However, let us ask ourselves: "Have the ideas of the utopians gone into oblivion (according to the assertions of the Bolsheviks?") Answering it, let us turn to the present: the Swedes, for example, believe that their state is socialist. Of course, private property is also present there, but at the same time, Sweden declares the creation of collective capital, a non-discriminatory labor market, social security, universal employment. But all this is present in the "Utopia" of Mora!

The puzzle from Thomas More is the name of the book. What subtext is encrypted in the name of the invented state (literally - "a country that does not exist")? Could there be a passive person whose life is faith and burning? Most likely, the title of the book hides the hope: "There is no such country, but in time it will be!"

Four hundred years later, the ideas of Mora, enriched by the mechanism of socialist co-operation, were proposed by Professor Chayanov in reference to the Russian peasant Christian community. He argued that the agricultural co-operation of the peasants is more beneficial to the state than the large capitalist farms. In Russia, then, chose an alternative path - the reform of Stolypin. However, there is a real, visible implementation of this project. At the turn of the current and past centuries, the countries of Latin America, largely thanks to the cooperation of Chayanov, raised their agriculture to the level of world standards.