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Marge Piercy Explains The Difference Between Utopian And Dystopian Science Fiction
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Marge Piercy Explains The Difference Between Utopian And Dystopian Science Fiction |
06/11/09
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06/11/09
*MMM* *MMM* *MMM* *MMM* *muffled spanish words* VAMNINOOOOOS *MMM* *MMM*.
06/11/09
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Anyone read or seen any good Utopian stories lately? How about a possible top 5 list?
06/11/09
I suppose the only truly Utopian documents are philosophical city-building texts, like Plato's Republic. But you wouldn't really call them Utopian. Just philosophy.
06/11/09
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
06/11/09
One of those worlds is dystopian: extremely patriarchal & hierarchical, with corporate control, slavery, and brain implants that make you conform.
The other presents a utopian society composed, more or less, of small egalitarian, artistic communities where creativity and freedom of thought are encouraged, and everybody shares in both the labour and the fruits of labour.
And while I was reading the book, I really couldn't find much wrong with the utopia she presents. I think the key to it is that while it's definitely a utopia, it's not a "perfect" situation and doesn't try to be. People still have various interpersonal problems and disagreements--but the point is that every member of the society is committed to living and working together despite their differences.
That's the only real difference between functional and a dysfunctional societies: in the functional (if not exactly utopian) societies, people are committed to living well together and working out their problems reasonably.
In a dysfunctional society, too many people are just in it for themselves or their own private causes; so things are chaotic and perhaps violent, unless order is imposed forcefully by some dictator or regime.
06/11/09
06/11/09
such a condition, however, is impossible.