HAT - A Voyage to Icaria PDF

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HAT test A Voyage to Icaria.
What does this extract tell us about the political and social values of the author?...

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HAT- A Voyage to Icaria

What does this extract tell us about the political and social values of the author? This extract reveals much about the political and social values of the author, encompassing themes such as equality, unity, traditions and women’s role in society. Which reveals the type of society Cabet wanted France to be like. The idea of equality in Icaria is given a lot of praise in the extract as it is seen as the ultimate goal of happiness, “everything is regulated according to the most enlightened reason and the most generous care”. This suggests that the political and social values are based on the utilitarian principle of doing the actions that means that there is the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. This is because Icaria is shown as a state that has equality among everyone as they are all seen as members who contribute to the workings of society, which is evident as the extract reveals that there are national representatives who work together with the citizens and scientists in order to indicate which foods are good, and by the positive tone of the source, it is seems like a good thing. This highlights that the author believes that there should also be a sense of unity as well as equality in the community. Furthermore, the source reveals that “there is no room for envy and pride”, which suggests that the author believes that there will only be social cohesion if the state and people themselves see everyone as equals. This is because the author shows all of these undesired traits of the society as being problematic hence why France is described as being a country that has “corrupt abuses”. Therefore, the extract reveals the author’s political and social values as being equality and unity in society. The source also reveals the importance of upholding tradition as it is portrayed as maintaining unity and identity, as the source states, “At every meal they begin with a toast, to the glory…”. This suggests that the author believes that if a state has a sense of identity, it will help the running of the society as people will all feel part of the community, avoiding marginalisation. Also, the authors approach to the manufacturing of garments alludes to socialist values as the source reveals that the garments are “manufactured in the most easy, rapid and economic way possible”, which suggests that the products are made internally in Icaria and that everything produced is to go around to everyone in order to fulfil their needs. Therefore, the source portrays the author’s political and social values as similar to socialist beliefs. The extract highlights the theme of women’s role in society which suggests that the author is for women’s rights as evident “how you would love these Icarians, if you saw how they surround women with attention, respect and homages”. This suggest that the author believes the attitudes towards women should change as they are often portrayed as having the expressive role of being the homemaker, so they are seen as the second-class sex. This relates back to the author’s value of equality as the source reveals that equality should be seen throughout all aspects of society, including gender as well as social class. Furthermore, the traditional role of women is also given a lot of praise and credit, “to simplify the housework of women”. This illustrates the author’s social values as it could be argued that the author believes that women are not given enough credit for the upbringing and making of the family,

as a result measures should be put in place in order to help women with their stressful role in society. Therefore, highlighting the author’s values in terms of women’s role in society. However, although this source has its strengthens in revealing the author’s political and social values, the source is still limited as the society of Icaria did not exist. This limits the weight of the source as it is only hypothetical and so it is questionable on whether a society like Icaria would actually be practical. This is problematic as it shows that the authors values are not realistic. To conclude, the extract reveals a lot about the author’s political and social values as throughout the source the idea of equality is highly emphasised, which links to other themes such as unity, tradition and women’s role. However, in order to confirm my conclusion, I would need further information on whether a society like Icaria has been successful in upholding the political and social values of the author....