In Book II of Thomas Moore's Utopia, two concepts I found interesting that were discussed were the geography of Utopia, and the relations Utopia has with other "countries." Prior to reading Book II, I has not really considered how to geographically define a Utopia. According to Moore, Utopia has no borders. I find this particularly significant because it implies that Utopia is not a limited space. In other words, that Utopia can expand, and likely contract as well. It would probably be very difficult to draw an exact map of a Utopia since it does not have defined borders in this case. Unless the Utopia is on an island, the borders end up being subjectively defined. I think I like the idea of a Utopia being malleable. When we go to make our class definition, I think it might be a good idea to include that aspect because it leaves room for Utopia to evolve.
If Utopia can evolve as a space, the other interesting aspect from this reading is how it relates and interacts with other "countries." Without having defined borders, it makes me wonder how Utopia would avoid being conquered or attacked by foreign or bordering countries. In our world's international relations, countries that border each other define their territories, but do not always agree on those definitions. I would imagine that a place without borders would cause a lot of trouble for other countries. However, although countries in our world have borders they do recognize that they can change as well, so maybe it isn't too significant. For example, when countries wage wars sometimes territories are redefined by the victors historically.
Ultimately, as far as the borders go for Utopia it makes me wonder how it will interact with other countries. Since international relations exist in our world, will they exist in a world with a Utopia? Does a Utopia need to interact with other countries? or is is self-sufficient and "perfect" enough not to need allies or diplomatic relations? Book II mentions how Utopians do not engage in trading or have allies, so I would imagine that without having relations with surrounding nations that it could risk being conquered. For example, organizations in our world like NATO have relations where if a member is attacked, the other members will defend and aid them. How could a Utopia survive without aid in a war? Do they have a very good military? How does a Utopia defend itself?
It is an island! I hate to diminish the nice thoughts you're having here about the idea of a borderless utopia, though, because what you're saying here is totally awesome...
ReplyDeleteYou always offer a unique perspective to our discussions Miranda! I agree that the word 'malleable' will enrich our class definition of Utopia. You brought up some excellent points when it comes to a utopia defending itself. Even though we agreed that multiple utopias can exist at one time, one man's utopia could very well be another man's dystopia. I would assume any utopia that isn't fortunate enough to have the geographical features that Thomas More describes would have to rely on diplomatic relations with other countries to keep the peace. Although More's Utopia was in many ways isolated from other societies, the inhabitants were wise enough to recognize that some of their resources were quite valuable to others and were able to come up with mutually beneficial trade agreements. It all sounds great....that is until one country decides they are entitled to the land/resources/wealth of another....
ReplyDeleteI always wonder about international relations too. My mind always seems to consider it in terms of geographical resources. Different parts of the world have different resrouces, and are more adapted for certain things, so in theory it would be hard to have no international relations (at least if the utopia plans to provide a more civilized life with resources similar to what we have now). But you also bring up a good point about war and armies. If the whole world isn't a part of this utopia then they are definitely more susceptible to being attacked and would therefore need either a good military or good allies (or even better, both!)
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