Thomas More’s 1516 Utopia describes a ‘fictitious’ republic on an imaginary island, and draws heavily on ancient political ideas. This paper explores the difficulties of applying the term ‘utopia’ to Plato’s political thinking, given that More’s term is anachronistically applied to ancient texts. The projects of the Republic and Laws should not be interpreted as ‘utopian’, but as blueprints for a foundation such as a new city, rather than as imagined ideal cities after More’s model. Support for Plato’s practical involvement in matters of political foundation is drawn from the Seventh Letter. The Republic and the Laws are discussed not as utopias, but political manifestos. The political context in which Plato lived, and his objectives, gives his political writings a wholly different dimension. The goal of the Republic and the Laws is not to describe unrealizable constitutions, but to exchange the Athenian constitution of Plato’s time for another.

托马斯·莫尔（Thomas More）的1516年乌托邦（Utopia）在一个虚构的岛屿上描述了一个“虚拟”共和国，并大量借鉴了古代政治思想。本文探讨了将“乌托邦”一词应用到柏拉图的政治思想中的困难，因为摩尔（More）的用词不合时宜地应用于古代文本。共和国和法律的项目不应被解释为“乌托邦式”，而应被解释为诸如新城市之类的基金会的蓝图，而不是按照莫尔的模式所想象的理想城市。从《第七封信》中可以得到柏拉图对政治基础事务的实际参与的支持。在共和国和法律讨论不是乌托邦，而是政治宣言。柏拉图所处的政治环境和他的目标使他的政治著作有了一个完全不同的方面。该目标共和国和法律不来形容不可能实现的宪法，但交换的柏拉图时代的雅典宪法另一个。