Utopia vs. Dystopia Essay

For centuries, mankind has attempted to create a universe in which people can live in peace, equality, justice, and happiness. Many great philosophers and writers have created imaginations and conceivable plans of what a perfect world should look like. However, every individual visualizes utopia from their own perspective. Utopia refers to fictitious paradise, a land of enchantment, an ideal state with nearly perfect qualities of its people. In the western civilization, utopia plays a critical role in the history of ideas. For instance, models of flawless government have been used to express ideas on present-day issues and political conditions. Dystopia is another type of a world that is opposite of Utopia. It literary means a bad place. Despite a lot of civilization, the contemporary world has been faced with numerous wars and conflict, epidemics, drought and global hunger. With this regard creating a utopian world is not an easy task. Many authors have chosen different standpoints in expressing their views regarding utopia. While some agree to the possibility of such a world some total dispute.Utopia and dystopia are two extremes of hypothetical fiction that have always provided a striking contrast to modern reality due to the fascination with their visionary aspects. Individuals interested in modern fantasy or science-fiction often comes across stories that paint the future in a certain color. Such narrations always awaken powerful curiosity in people that change their perspective on life as soon as the story ends.

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The utopia fiction portrays a future in which humanity has attained a state of peace and balance, and a place where all life forms are valued and maintained. In such a world there is no more struggle and injustice, no more violence and ignorance. The comprehensive message of utopian narratives is one of hope and faith in humanity. It reminds us of our ingrained instinct to crave for peace, regenerate and to progress past our shortcomings. Under the economic category of utopian fiction, the society is perceived to have evolved towards the equal distribution of resources, the abolition of monetary value, personal profit and forced labor. Additionally, societies are able to enjoy increased value attributed to art and science. Political utopia, on the other hand, is marked global and galactic peace, unity and elimination of gender, cultural and racial based prejudices.

Dystopia is an era in which mankind's golden age has been long buried in the ashes. The fiction paints a picture in which mankind has fallen into ruin and decline, and where nature and life forms have been recklessly exploited and destroyed. The underlying message behind dystopian narratives is one that warns against hope in humanity. The dystopia community or society is one that is undesirable and frightening. Through an exaggeration of their own consequences dystopias often criticize the present-day trends. Economic dystopias argue that the world will soon be ruled by a single corporation which wills dominate mankind through intrusive advertisement, propaganda, implanted technology, and manipulation. As a result, there will be absolute control of resources with strict limitations of available comfort. With regards to politics, dystopias crush the premise of global unity with the view that governments are the root of all evil. In dystopias society's individual freedom is a myth, trust is an expensive commodity and governments violate human rights while treating people like animals.

Edward Bellamy's 'Looking Backwards' is a perfect novel that constructs visions of what a perfect utopia looks like. The author addresses various topics that are critical to the development of civilizations. In the book, a character named Julian suffers from insomnia, a condition that allows him to be put in a soundproof chamber. He falls into a deep sleep and wakes up after a century only to find that the American society has developed into socialism and is on the brink of utopia. While authoring the book, Bellamy's key concern was the fact that American independence and the self-proclaimed ideals of equality and democracy was the root of the economic plutocracy that has instituted oppressive class structures while smothering individual freedoms. The author's ideas echo the Marxist conviction that American political structures are intertwined with economic forces. From the eyes of Bellamy, socialism is a perfect ideology that presents a spectrum of possibilities and changes for the audience in the 19th century. Generally, the author represents his perception of utopia as a society that is flexible, with respect for personal freedom because capital is owned publicly.

At the time when George Orwell was putting down ideas of the book 'Propaganda on 1984', He was particularly concerned by the then global affairs that were taking shape in different regions such as capitalism and communism. Written in 1948, the book was an apocalyptic vision of what the future would look like with regards to cruelty and horror of dwelling in a completely totalitarian world in which human individuality and community had been obliterated. In the eyes of George Orwell, there is no chance for utopia. The society obtains true actual power and maintains dystopia by having control over the power of love both romantic and filial. At a young age, children are brainwashed not to love but spy against their parents thus killing the filial love. Instead, they are raised to love only Big Brother. The story is about Winston Smith who lives in a country called Oceania. The ruling government is called IngSoc. Smith lives in constant fear following his arrest and torture by party members of the ruling government. The author shows how IngSoc is a totalitarian regime and discusses the dangers of such governments. Orwell creates a dystopia of a totalitarian government by denouncing totalitarianism. He perceives totalitarianism as a tempting option for nations overwhelmed by poverty and advises citizens of such countries to avoid that path. Leaders in totalitarian regimes like the former Stalin's Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Italy are examples of people whose main concern is absolute power no matter how many lives are destroyed.

Conclusion

The ideologies of Utopia and dystopia continue to be popular in the 21st century. Filmmakers and authors continue to paint the two worlds in the minds of their audience. While utopians believe in the possibility of an ideal world, dystopias disagree because by nature mankind is selfish and evil. Edward Bellamy's utopia construction is so perfect and well planned and leaves one to wonder how such perfect ideas could be brought about and implemented. The novel contains significant ideas on how a society should look like but still, there are so many loopholes. The whole ideas seem too good to be realistic. Whereas people do not wish to live in dark societies, anti-utopians like George Orwell suggest that such worlds could exist. Despite the obvious pessimistic connotations of dystopias, the phenomena are inevitable.