Book III

Ok, I will jot down what I have on my notes:

Prisoners of war are taken in as slaves. Women are prohibited to marry before 18; likewise, men before 22. Polygamy and divorce are almost always prohibited, yet some divorce is allowed via the state. Fools are used for enjoyment as well as lessons of utility. Utopia does not have any strong, foreign alliances. They detest war, but help friends in times of need. War is not used for killing - the Utopians try to limit death and unrest. They hope to take more prisoners, then casualties. Utopians know that others have different and varying religions, yet respects others' beliefs. Utopians are free to choose what religion to practice - the state does not choose for them. They greatly respect the dead via funeral and commemoration - talking only of the glory and honor of the deceased. Priests are raised to study from an early age, help others, and are very respected from citizens. The worst crime of a priest is to not help everyone. They hold music and art as a great beauty, often coming from a superior god.

My opinion varied greatly from one portion to the next in this last book. I usually found that if the state was unilaterally interfering with people's behavior, then I disapproved of the state's actions. But if sovereignty and choice was given to the Utopians, I usually agreed with what the state was suggesting. Some examples. I do not believe that the state should have the right to bar people from marriage based strictly on age, alone. Yes, we do not want 9 year-olds marrying, but 18 year-olds and 17 year-olds are complete idiots. Divorce should not be prohibited by the state, either, due to the free will people should have. Marriage is too close to people's lives that the state should not dictate for them what is 'right' and what is 'wrong.' I do like the idea that Utopia believed in not being in strong, foreign alliances. Just as George Washington told America not to get into entangling foreign alliances, most nation states should not get into strong alliances (see WWI or WWII for reasons why not). I liked the idea that Utopians could choose their own religion. Sovereignty in this area co-aligns with America's separation of church and state. If church and state were not separated, tensions between religions would probably be so tense that outbreaks would probably be deadly (see Saudi Arabia and 16th century England for examples).

At the end of all this, I could sum up my belief about Utopia as this: there are areas where the state could suggest improvement of utility in people's lifestyle, but most of these should not be entirely and unilaterally enforced by the state. Yes, I know that is vague.