Utopian/dystopian thinking in 60s fiction

Thomas More, in his 1518 book Utopia, originally conceived the term, although not the actual concept – many philosophers would say that the concept of utopia is something inherent to the human psyche. The idea of utopia, even in literature, is far older than More’s romance; it appears in the Timaeus of Plato and is fully developed in his Republic. The idealized description of Sparta in Plutarchs life of Lycurgus belongs to the same class of literary Utopias, though it professes to be historical. A similar idea also occurs in legends of worldwide currency, the best known of these being the Greek, and the medieval Norse, Celtic and Arab legends that describe an earthly Paradise in the Western or Atlantic Ocean. In More’s work, Utopia was an imaginary island that enjoyed the greatest perfection in its social, moral and political aspects. So, put very simply, utopia is any place or state of ideal perfection. However, we can also regard utopia as more than just a concept, it is also a literary genre, the same as dystopia.

Ballard claims that accuracy, science fact, does not matter at all. He disdainfully refers to it as “the last refuge of the unimaginative”, and expresses a desire for science fiction to become abstract and start exploring a number of high-concept themes:

“The city is the physical embodiment of all the arts and sciences known to man. It is a compendium of knowledge, all that is needed for the cultivation of the good life”

This was another key dystopian text of the 1960’s, although it differed very much from what we can call ‘traditional’ dystopian fiction. It is an anti-utopian novel, describing an imminent future in a country coming more and more under state control. The hero Alex revolts against the state using violence and is subsequently incarcerated for his crimes. Later he is turned into a harmless subject lacking free will, physically unable to commit any crime.

Fahrenheit 451 is a clear reaction to the McCarthy era in which it was written; the near future book burning society is a logical projection of the world of 1950’s middle class America.

Some topics in this essay:
Drowned World, Golden Age, Inner Space, Atlantis Plato, Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess, Civil Rights, Orwell’s Bradbury’s, Orwell Huxley, Bradbury Flamingo, drowned world, golden age, dystopian fiction, clockwork orange, science fiction, youth culture, modern youth, brave world, fahrenheit 451, ‘reductio ad absurdum’, human psyche, idea ‘reductio ad, tomorrow jonathan swift, extreme drowned world, youth modern youth,