Looking Backwards is a novel about a man name Julian West who lives in the nineteenth century. Through Julian the reader is shown the unfair wealth distribution in society. After falling into a deep sleep Julian wakes up in the year 2000 to a completely different society. Julian is revived from his deep sleep from Doctor Leete. Through Doctor Leete, Julian learns that societal problems has been resolved by basing the economy on public capital rather than private. As a result the government controls the means of production and has divided the national product equally between all citizens. In comparison to society in the nineteenth century Julian depicts this new world as a utopia.
Unlike other texts we have read this term, Looking Backwards displays a political perspective that critiques societal issues in the nineteenth century. Since the Civil War society has witnessed extreme change. The introduction to industrialization has promoted economic growth in the United States. As a result the United States has become one of the one of the most powerful and wealthy nations in the world. Although some may view this development as progression, Edward Bellamy chastises these “advances” in society. In the authors point of view society in the nineteenth century was unjust. In Looking Backwards Edward Bellamy creates an ideal utopia where everyone is equal. Edward Bellamy presents that the introduction to socialism in the twentieth century was necessary for social harmony. Society in this new utopia was based on the overarching idea of brotherhood. Bellamy claims that in this new utopia people felt proud working together as a community and it was unthinkable that any individual should suffer the evils of poverty or hunger.
I agree that this story is places in a time where the U.S. is seeing major growth. Some are becoming super rich, while others work for them in operations or production. Bellamy uses this time to present a society that is publicly run and is primarily based on equality, especially in the workplace. This seemed like a great idea for the time, but as a modern day reader, I think that a socialist government would be detrimental to progress as a nation.
I agree with you entirely. Socialism simply does not work for any nation in the present day. In the late 19th century, things were obviously much different than in 2018. The population was lower, only 38 states made up our nation, technology was not nearly as advanced as it is today. Bellamy had no idea what the world would be like in 2000, so for his time, socialism seemed like it would be successful.
I agree that this novel criticizes the problems with American society in the late 19th century. By creating a future utopia, Bellamy automatically generates a comparison between society during his time and society in the future. He also had Julian directly compare the two within the text and Julian depicted this future as a utopia.
I find it funny that the utopian society can be seen as removing the agency of the individual, but depends on the individual’s ability to connect to the larger community for its success. While it promotes this “brotherhood,” the core survival occurs within each individual’s ability to morally reflect on their position and how it affects others.