Freedom and Liberty in Book II of Thomas More's Utopia

Thomas More finished writing his Utopia originally in Latin in 1516. This scholarly masterpiece describes an imaginary society in two separate Books, together with its various social-political institutions and everyday customs. Through the words of the experienced and over-intelligent sailor, Raphael Hythloday, we have the opportunity to get a profound insight into the mechanisms of the lives of the Utopians in a way that, even from the remoteness of almost five hundred years, it tells us something immensely fundamental about the constantly changing nature of human affairs.§ In the present book we endeavor to have a closer look upon the characteristics of political freedom in the Utopian society, besides continually being aware of the fact that this very concept has undergone the most influential and diverse interpretations ever since More\'s own time. Bearing this in mind, our ultimate aim with the book is to continue More\'s own belief to go on with the never-ending struggle to find the optimal condition of man. Thomas More finished writing his Utopia originally in Latin in 1516. This scholarly masterpiece describes an imaginary society in two separate Books, together with its various social-political institutions and everyday customs. Through the words of the experienced and over-intelligent sailor, Raphael Hythloday, we have the opportunity to get a profound insight into the mechanisms of the lives of the Utopians in a way that, even from the remoteness of almost five hundred years, it tells us something immensely fundamental about the constantly changing nature of human affairs. In the present book we endeavor to have a closer look upon the characteristics of political freedom in the Utopian society, besides continually being aware of the fact that this very concept has undergone the most influential and diverse interpretations ever since More's own time. Bearing this in mind, our ultimate aim with the book is to continue More's own belief to go on with the never-ending struggle to find the optimal condition of man.