desire in utopia

Desire versus Social Organization in More’s Utopia Social organization in the imaginary community described by Hythloday in Thomas More’s Utopia is highly structured around certain basic principles that allow the society to function as a working unit. Many of these fundamental rules focus on communal life in Utopia, promoting shared property, minimal law enforcement, trust, and honesty, while downplaying notions of luxury and finance. More contends that the Utopians, according to nature, should “…

…outweigh the needs of the many, emphasize the needs of a few select, and result in a potentially chaotic mix of strange emotion, fantasy, and debauchery. Since the Utopians have no concept of the consequences involved with unabashed desire, they would have no means of dealing with it within the context of their societal structure. In its present form, Utopia would collapse or be fundamentally altered (e.g. no loner communist) if desire went unchecked.