Introduction
Both Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and Thomas More’s “Utopia” offer the reader views on a perfect society. Utopia places more emphasis on a community society in which nobody owns anything than The Prince does on power, its acquisition, and preservation. However, both authors shared a similar motivation in writing their works – addressing societal imperfection and injustice. Hence, while “The Prince” and “Utopia” are two works that nonetheless have striking differences, they share some similarities in their results.
“The Prince”
“The Prince” presents its readers with a highly authoritarian and pragmatic approach to building a state. This book’s central concept is that power should always be at the heart of leadership since the end justifies the means. The power in Machiavelli’s works resides in a strong military. It can protect and expand the country, instill pride in its citizens, and lower taxes with resources gained through conquest.
Ethically, the ruler must make pragmatic decisions that benefit himself and the state without concerning himself with morality. Moreover, the ruler must not be too generous to his citizens, lest it strain the economy. Lastly, the ruler must be honest with his people to build trust with the public(Machiavelli, 2020). Hence, Machiavelli has created an image of an authoritarian and militaristic state governed by a pragmatic, yet honest, ruler.
“Utopia”
Conversely, Thomas More envisions a highly egalitarian world, where wealth is distributed equally among the population. One of the core ideals of “Utopia” is the elimination of poverty. Private property is replaced with communal property, with everyone getting an equal share of wealth. With this, problems like greed and theft are eliminated, as there is no motivation for them. Universal labor is another core principle of the book, with all people working together for the common good (More, 2019). Hence, More’s “Utopia” is an egalitarian society that distributes its resources equally, but demands labor from its citizens in return.
Conclusion
Hence, “The Prince” and “Utopia” have a large number of differences. “The Prince” portrays a militaristic and authoritarian state, whereas “Utopia” depicts a communal and egalitarian way of living. However, both systems demand some form of obedience from their citizens. In the case of “The Prince,” obedience to the ruler is emphasized, while in “Utopia,” mandatory equal participation in labor is highlighted. To summarize, although the two systems differ significantly in design, they still share some overlapping features.
References
More, T. (2019). Utopia. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Machiavelli, N. (2020). The Prince. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.