A Juridical Analysis of Utopia: a Question of Legitimacy

In the context of More’s proposal for the best form of commonwealth, the dissertation aims to offer a juridical analysis of the State of Utopia. After a brief examination of Thomas More’s biography and of the process that led to the composition of Utopia, a general description of the social structure, functioning and ground principles of life of Utopians is provided. The proper juridical analysis of Utopia takes place in the second chapter of the dissertation. Firstly, the chapter examines the fundamental elements of a State, namely the territory, the population, and the sovereignty, and whether these elements are present or not in the State of Utopia. Secondly, it investigates the governmental structure of Utopia, and it assesses the general assumption of its federative structure. The study moves to the analysis of Utopia’s legal system, and its deep interconnection with Natural Law. It further provides a review of Utopian laws, identifying their main features, their enforcement, and some of the fallacies implicit in the process of administration of justice. The analysis ends with an overview of the legal concept of legitimacy, concerning the commonwealth of Utopia.