Raphael Hythloday describes Utopia as a perfect society, but this perfection is not a natural occurrence. Privacy is a frightening notion for the Utopians: doors are constructed to give easy and immediate access to any passerby it is a serious crime to discuss any political business anywhere other than the public assembly families can be reconstituted by the state if the population distribution becomes lopsided. Individual and private activities are discouraged. Even private activities like eating, reading philosophy, and taking a vacation are inextricable parts of the communal life. Rather, the Utopians seek the prioritization of the common welfare and the fulfillment of private interests through the common welfare whenever possible. The Utopians are not opposed to the rational and intelligent improvement of one's interests. This extreme position is reflected in the Utopian fear that private property will produce more harm than good and will cause the community to unravel. At one point, we learn of the Utopians' claim that the afterlife of punishment or reward is the one thing that inspires man to obey law and respect others. The Utopian position is founded upon an inherent distrust of mankind. As modern history has revealed, communism is not the only alternative to feudalism and without a doubt, communism has not proved to be the most viable alternative to feudalism. In Utopia, there is no poverty and everyone works, quite unlike the feudal societies wherein there was much poverty and an inequitable distribution of labor. By eliminating private property, class-based social stratification, and wealth, the Utopians remove the mechanisms with which much harm is done. The Utopian argument is that pride is the great source of many crimes and injuries. Hythloday defends communism as practiced by the Utopians, noting that a similar sort of communal life was lived by the early Church and is still lived by the holiest monastic orders. On this point, the author allows his fictional equivalent (the character More) to disagree with Utopian policy and with Raphael Hythloday's interpretation of English society. The abolition of private property is one of More's chief criticisms of the Utopian state.
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