From Fantasy To Reality: The Evolution Of England Commonwealth Thought In The16-th Century

The commonwealth thought in the16th century is the important part of England political history, and it is the correct and supplement content for the traditional view on the commonwealth thought.Its germination is based on the thought condition such as the effect of Renaissance, and the social condition such as the effect of enclosure movement and religious reform. Its improvement is that England humanists seek political construction of national system reform, gradually used in-depth commonwealth thought, which is from fantasy to reality.Specifically, England humanists accept and apply the classical commonwealth thought of the ancient Greek and Roman in the16th century,as well as their political construction of national system reform conclude the core of the classical commonwealth thought,such as the mixed regime, virtue and rule of law. However, to solve the domestic social problems at that time, Moore, Starkey and Crowley don’t fully grasp the complexity of the problem, just a simple correction is made. They set nation and its system,take on the position and guide direction of the real society,which embody the fantasy of the commonwealth thought. But in the late16th century,Ponet and Smith in the national system reform are based on secular position and give the ways to implement the commonwealth, and put forward the realistic guidance,which reflects the reality of commonwealth thought. It is thus clear that at this period, it is gradually thorough from Moore to Smith in commonwealth thought, and it shows that the commonwealth thought evolves from fantasy to reality. The transition of this change is not achieved overnight; it needs the support of dynamic factors. For example, the classical knowledge, social structure changes, the new changes in parliament, and religious factors, etc.This article will interpret the evolution of the commonwealth thought in the16th century, which is mainly based on the commonwealth thought of England humanist embodied in national system reform ideas, and based on the classical commonwealth thought as the core of this paper, namely the mixed regime, virtue and rule of law.