Respublica utopiensium, A Republican Utopia?

Abstract

In order to show that More´s Utopia is committed to the republican ideal of a civitas libera, we proceed in three steps. After some short but necessary terminological considerations about the two main meanings of “republic” in the early sixteenth century, we begin by describing the conception of the nature and legitimacy of power expounded in the book. Then, we examine how this principle translates into the specific institutions and practices of the Utopian community. Finally, we seek to show how such institutions and practices crystallize into a political model (typical of Renaissance republicanism) known as “mixed government,” which combines monarchy, democracy, and aristocracy. The concrete expression of this last aspect in the life of Utopia gives rise to an interesting internal tension. On the one hand, it imposes a significant restriction on political freedoms by granting unequal rights to the “people” (who can choose their magistrates but cannot be elected for higher office) and to those belonging to the order of the intellectuals (the only ones who can hold higher office). However, if we bear in mind that this latter status does not in the least depend on material wealth (since in Utopia there is no private property and all property is common), we can infer that, in a decisive and groundbreaking move, material equality is being conceived as a necessary precondition for true political freedom.