From Nowhere: Utopian and Dystopian Visions of our - Chris J. Young

Regained explores the Judaic and Christian beliefs of paradise and the apocalypse from the Bible, and also
from influential Medieval Christian scholarly writings.
in Utopia More incorporates these classical, religious, mythical voyages, and visions of paradise into an
idea that could be placed practically here on earth, in order to combat the social, economic, political,
cultural, and even biological issues that had plagued the European continent for centuries. it was from
these exploratory foundations that More created his Utopia. in Case 4 the various editions of Utopia in
the original Latin and translations into the vernacular languages are examined, and attempts are made
to understand the satire, wit, and complexity of this visionary and culturally pervasive work that has
changed our perceptions of a better society.
Following More’s Utopia came a flurry of other utopias and utopian-inspired works of literature from the
sixteenth century through to the end of the eighteenth century. Some describe wondrous voyages by sea
to imaginary lands in the New World and beyond, where peoples live according to alternative Christian
beliefs and political state structures, where societies are organized rationally, to provide resources for all
its citizens, and to eliminate the European ills of disease, war, and poverty. The devices of satire, wit,
and imagination are employed to confront the troubling issues of contemporary society, and to offer new
ideas for making the world a better place. Cases 5 and 6, Exploring Nowhere, showcase the journeys many
writers took to find their own utopia, and explore the creative ingenuity through which contemporary ills
were tackled .
Towards the end of the eighteenth century there was a strong sense of optimism that these utopian visions
would bring about improvements in the political and social spheres. in 1789 the French Revolution
drastically altered the fate of French, European, and world history, bringing in its wake noble ideas of
freedom and liberty, social and economic equality, and universal peace. But the pursuit of these idealistic
goals came at a terrible cost. Tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers died during the Revolution,
suggesting that any utopian vision could only be achieved through violent transformation. After all, for
the new world to be born, the old world had to be swept away.
As the nineteenth century progressed, the world underwent massive changes through industrialization,
exploration, and the imperial conquest of the continents at the outer reaches of the globe. The world
was no longer an infinite realm of undiscovered territory; the globe was filled with the names of faraway
places. The locale of Utopia was thus transformed from as yet undiscovered distant lands, to places
where alternative societies were to be constructed in the present, or projected into the future with
attendant desirable and nightmarish visions of what was to come. Case 7, Quest for Equality, explores these
alternative societies featuring some of the envisioned and constructed utopias that attempt to increase
social and economic equality for all. in Case 8 the darker side of these societies is exposed, warning of
the consequences of socialism, fascism, technology and how they might be manipulated by totalitarian
12 Introduction