Politicizing Thomas More's Utopia in restoration England

Abstract

Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, England faced several decades of political and social turmoil. In an era of political questioning, dreams about alternate systems of life and culture were not simply thought-provoking exercises, but were often perceived as being dangerously subversive. Within this context, this essay examines the dominant rhetorical responses in Restoration England to Thomas More's Utopia. Utopia was often brought up in polemics directed against Protestant nonconformists, whom, it was feared, sought the return of an English commonwealth. Nonconformists, alternatively, referred to Utopia in anti-Catholic polemics in an attempt to link English Catholics with the desire to overthrow the monarchy and subvert the English Church. Some Protestant authors went even further and embraced More's Utopia precisely because they were dissatisfied with the restored establishment and hoped to see English society fundamentally reformed.