Post 1: Sustainabilty & Utopian or Georgic Narratives

Passage 2:

Greed and wealth are distributed unequally and cause issues with sustainability, specifically with farming practices. According to More , “the price of wool is so risen, that poor folks, which were wont to work it and make cloth thereof, be now able to buy none at all,” meaning that the price of wool has risen and only wealthy people can afford to buy it. This sudden rise in wool price is due to inflation that occurred during the enclosure movement, when the wealth of farming was consolidated and only a few had ownership and profited from their land. As farms were being enclosed, “an infinite multitude of sheep died of the rot,” which speaks to the unsustainable way that folks went about enclosing farms. The consolidation of wealth allowed for the already wealthy landowners to monopolize on farming, running the poor local farmers out of business. Former farmers flocked to the cities during this time and began working in factories leading up to the industrial revolution later in the century. This passage is persuasive in that it dissects the enclosure movement and harps on key issues of wealth disparity as it relates to unsustainable practices that began when this shift occurred. The disposable mindset of the period was born out of a need to flee and start anew. When farmers were forced to enclose their farms, they did not have the means to do so, and probably left things in a distraught manner; leaving sheep to die and land to become overgrown. The lack of care during this transitional time also led to people becoming desperate for money and investing in the growth of cities, which housed unsustainable and environmentally harmful industries such as coal burning. This major shift in agricultural history was rooted in economic gain and therefore, capitalism. It displays how each person’s motive and movement, during this time, was due to a need for wealth; economic opportunity was the driving force. However, this drive for money resulted in loose ends and unsustainable practices that caused a ripple effect throughout history. We are still impacted by these historical events today, as seen in the incredibly harmful animal agriculture companies that edge out local farmers and manufacturers. These companies undercut our economy and contribute heavily to climate change. Overall, More persuades his audience with facts and emotional appeals that ignite anger and frustration in the reader, once they are able to step back and see the troubling history that unfolded out of the enclosure movement.

More, Thomas. “Utopia.” In Three Early Modern Utopias, ed. Susan Bruce. NY: Oxford UP, 2008. 1-10.