Looking Backward: 2000-1887

Description

The title of this truly outstanding science fiction novel might make readers think they are holding a contemporary novel in their hands, but the book was actually written at the end of the 19th century and was first published in 1888. The peculiar way the story is told and the conclusions the book reaches made it an instant success and a work that has influenced numerous intellectuals, being frequently quoted even today.

The situation that gives life to the plot is one that we know well from many contemporary books and films. The protagonist, a young American from Boston named Julian West, falls into a hypnosis-induced sleep and wakes up 113 years later, still in Boston. He finds a world that does not resemble the world as he used to know it in the slightest: the entire United States has become a utopia, a socialist world. Most of the book is about how the young man explores and perceives this new universe. He contemplates the social, cultural and economic aspects of capitalism, as well as ways to make the future better. During his explorations, he is accompanied by a guide, Doctor Leete who explains about the changes and helps West understand the technological innovations that are there to shape the modern world. All the vices of the old world have disappeared – the new order has eliminated war and crime, inequality has vanished, famine and poverty no longer exist, giving the protagonist plenty to think about and to analyze.

Bellamy’s novel is one of the most debated fictional writings of the 19th century. It brought about a long battle of books, with ongoing debates through the 20th century. The comparison between capitalism as it was at the end of the 19th century and the utopian world the protagonist wakes up to highlights the shortcomings of the former and stresses the idealistic character of the latter, making a novel that provides a lot of food for thought even in our days.
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