Origins
While
often
thought of as antonyms, utopia can be defined as nowhere (outopia) as
well as eutopia, or happy place, while dystopia refers to a place where
conditions are dire: oppressive, violent, with scarce resources and/or
a society alienated from the natural world.[3]
Sir
Thomas More, who wrote Utopia
in 1516, deliberately coined this
ambiguous term for an ideal place that perhaps could never exist.[4]
Samuel
Butler's Erewhon
(an anagram
of Nowhere), published in 1872, describes a
seemingly utopian pre-technological society that turns out to be far
from ideal.[5]
Modern Movements
Modern utopian
science fiction rests on the premise that science can and will solve
society's problems.[6]
A contemporary example is Ernest Callenbach's
Ecotopia, published in 1975, which portrays a society living in
ecological balance with the earth.[7]
Dystopian
fiction takes a bleak view of a technologically-dependent
future. Major works of 20th century dystopian sci-fi include George
Orwell's 1984
and Aldous Huxley's
Brave
New World.[8]
Brave New World describes a
seemingly utopian system where people are
given all they need and docilely accept their place in society. As the
story unfolds, typical dystopian
elements of totalitarianism, lack of individuality, technological
dependence and alienation from the natural world come to the
forefront.[9]
"Without
the Utopias of other times, men would still live in caves, miserable
and naked. It was Utopians who traced the lines of the first city...
Out of generous dreams come beneficial realities. Utopia is the
principle of all
progress, and the essay into a better future". [10]
– Anatole
France
"Cycle
tracks will
abound in Utopia. [11] -H.G.
Wells
