Of the arguments of Hythloday in Utopia, one in particular stands as a critique of the penal system and punishment. In Of the Best State of a Commonwealth, Hythloday critiques the practice of putting men to death for thievery. Making theft a capital crime is not in the best interest of the commonwealth, according to Hythloday. In this argument we discover that a just society to Hythloday is one that resembles the just state as outlined by Plato in The Republic. In Utopia, we are told that Hythloday is akin in character and nature to the kind of guardian (i.e. philosopher) Plato argues best rules the state. We are told in Utopia that Hythloday is the wisest philosopher who ôneither desire[s] wealth nor greatnessö (More 1516, 5). This kind of individual is the only one fit to rule the state in a just manner. Hythloday is also quite similar to the only kind of individual Plato argues is fitted to create a just state. In The Republic Plato explains such individuals as men who ôdelight in meditation and understanding; who yearn not for goods, not for victory, but for knowledge; who leave both market and battle-field to lose themselves in the quiet clarity of secluded thoughtö (Durant 1953, 22).
Hythloday will outline his reasons for viewing the punishment of death for theft as unjust, but first he makes a critique against states that involve themselves in war and conquest at the expense of wisely ruling the kingdoms they possess, ôàmost princes apply themselves more to affairs of war than to the useful arts of peaceàthey are generally more set on acquiring new kingdoms, right or wrong, than on governing those they possessö (More 1516, 5). The moral tone of Hythloday is inherently Christian, communal, and antiwar. It supposes that men are capable of creating and sustaining social structures that exhibit equality and communal ownership of property.
Hythloday tells of one kingdom he visits that remains primarily free of...