More goes on to explain how foolish this finery appeared to the Utopians for whom lavish clothes and jewellery were the badges of slavery or the marks of infamy or 'the playthings of children.' The Utopian approach to wealth and money was very different from 16th century England. The Utopians shared their surpluses with one another, helped each other out and built a store of gold to be prepared for a disaster. They even paid for mercenaries to do their fighting for them! They developed a culture where ostentation and vulgar displays of money were seen as pathetic and childish.