Three dollars and fifty-eight cents. Use the money now to buy dinner or wait and let the hunger pass. To sleep on the park bench or look for availability in the chaotic homeless shelter. Standing outside in the scorching sun hoping to get a few extra dollars or sitting under the shade tree and skipping another meal. These are the possible decisions that the poor might encounter on a daily basis. In today's society and especially in 16th century England, these decisions were prevalent among the considerable amount of people suffering from destitution. When Thomas More recognized this problem, he further realized the absurdities and wrongs within his society as the rich lived in comfort and the poor suffered in the daily turmoil. More's Utopia criticized the injustices of English society as the novel presents an ideal land where England's social problems have been solved and are non-existent. Utopia displays a simplistic lifestyle and presents social and economic equality among all citizens; unlike England, where there were social classes and an unjust distribution of wealth that formed the basis of English society. More described Utopia as the antithesis of English society to enlighten educated, upper-class Englishmen about the wrongs within their society and push them to review their mistakes and help improve England. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the country of Utopia, the main focus is agriculture. Everyone is “taught in it from childhood,” ensuring that citizens are aware of the necessary labors that are the foundation of their civilization (107). Participation in cultivation makes the community equitable, as everyone routinely engages in agriculture and experiences the strenuous work associated with it. More presents the agricultural civilization within Utopia to express the lack of praise towards farmers within his own society and to criticize the selfish attitude of the privileged. English elites could indulge themselves in an hour, with food that had taken farmers months of laborious farming to produce. They ignored the tribulations that farmers had to go through to achieve a successful harvest and chose to believe that they were above the arduous work. More presents the arrogant and selfish nature of high-class Englishmen as they lived without concern for the stability of their homes and lifestyle and had no regard for anyone else who was not similarly classified. While farmers relied solely on their unstable harvest as a source of income, and the harvest was perhaps the deciding factor in whether they would have food and a home or not. Making agriculture the fundamental foundation of utopian civilization instills a sense of fairness and unity in the community that, due to the narcissism of the elites, England did not have. Material objects such as extravagant clothing and luxurious accessories are considered ridiculous in Utopia. The people on the island do not find opulent objects as a necessary aspect of their survival, and therefore find no use in them. All citizens wear simple and similar clothing, with the only distinction being gender and marriageability. The idolatry of gold and silver is also ridiculous to the utopians since they use them as toys for children, household materials such as "chamber pots and stools", and even "chains and shackles for their slaves" (137) . More presents the disgust of the utopians in expressing the absurdity of the English, inparticular of upper-class Englishmen, and their emphasis on sybaritic objects which made no significant contribution to their survival. The upper class was obsessed with having expensive and lavish clothes and jewelry just to brag to each other. They spent an inordinate amount of money on indulgent items, while most of England barely had enough to support themselves. More uses Utopia's treatment of luxury objects for what they are - non-essential and excessive - to show how the elites' admiration for those objects was simply an appeal to their superiority complex. Instead of using their excess wealth to aid the survival of those less fortunate within their community, the rich spent money on items with a high monetary value, but were actually useless. Personal property and possession of objects are non-existent in utopian civilization. for “there is no property between them” and everything “belongs to the whole city” (101). Making everyone have the same amount of goods – practically nothing – further equalizes the citizens of Utopia. More shows that “where no man owns any property, all men zealously pursue the public good” and therefore focus on contributing to the progress of their community, rather than selfishly improving themselves at the expense of others (248). The utopia's lack of property represents a contrast to England as the privileged class prospered with an excessive amount of possessions. Possessions defined English high society as their social power derived from the number of objects they owned. More presents the strong emphasis his society had on possessions, as their possessions influenced the perception of what other elites thought of them and influenced the life they would live. Ownership of land and possession of extravagant objects determined who they would marry, their success in their occupation, and their power within the government. It shows how vapid England's leaders were as they relied on the quantity of their possessions and wealth, rather than the quality of their character to determine how "well off" they would be. Others created life in Utopia based on quality of life and minimalist living for happiness to present to upper-class England that possessions do not bring happiness and should not play such a significant role in influencing one's life. The justice system within Utopia is rather basic with minimal laws and simple trials and consequences for crimes; thus excluding the possibility of any exploitation of the law. When a crime is committed, the offender defends himself because lawyers are believed to “disguise things and distort the laws” (190). The possibility for the accused to defend himself before a judge allows for a faster and more effective trial since the argument in favor of innocence comes directly from the accused and does not have “artifices that lawyers are inclined to suggest” (190). More formed the utopian legal system as the opposite of the English legal system to illustrate how the privileged manipulated the system and distorted the definition of justice. The English legal system favored the elites as those who were wealthy and held titles influenced the creation and interpretation of laws that could benefit them. High society used their wealth to corrupt the system by influencing judges and witnesses in their favor. The use of lawyers further shows how justice can be corrupted within English society as the chance of a person being found innocent depended?