Anti-Utopias in Communistic and Capitalistic Societies Through human innovation and discovery, the world on which we live has developed from a molten rock of lava to a societal world were humans are speciesists and have created an anti-utopia. Despite the implications of the term anti-utopia, it is not a world between a utopia and a dystopia, a utopia being a perfect world where everyone is satisfied with the restraints of society and a dystopia being a world of complete despair where all sentient beings suffer. Instead, an anti-utopia is a world in which the citizens believe that the world is a utopia, but in reality it is a dystopia. Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, portrays an anti-utopia in a communistic society as the citizens believe that
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The world is not just composed of communistic societies though and as a result, some may point to the free markets of capitalism and their unregulated freedoms to show the utopic nature of the world; however, an anti-utopia can also exist in a capitalistic society as seen in Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Bradbury depicts a fast paced, technology driven society where the citizens are happy amongst their ignorance towards both knowledge and personal relations. Defining the world which humans have constructed as an anti-utopia is often controversial, but Ayn Rand’s Anthem and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 provide the basis for the claim with which parallels can then be drawn between both the communistic and capitalistic societies of the world …show more content…
In his novel, Bradbury illustrates a fast paced, technologically advanced society in which the citizens experience a life of complete ignorance as the technology which surrounds them consumes their motivation and will to think for themselves. But, despite the dystopian nature of the society, the citizens believe that the society in which they live is a utopia as they can obtain both entertainment and the necessities for life easily. In reality those who look on the society see its dysfunctional and dystopic nature as the citizens are apathetic and due to a complete lack of motivation, they are unable to learn and challenge the world which surrounds them. Without an ability to learn and challenge, it is obvious that the society of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is an anti-utopia. But, unlike Rand’s Anthem Bradbury portrays a capitalistic society as the citizens work to achieve a secure financial status with which luxuries of society can then be purchased. Such a capitalistic society is not foreign to the world in which we live and the stereotypical country of capitalism is the United States of America. By some it may be considered a utopia as citizens are able to seek opportunity and further advancement, but in reality the United States resembles the anti-utopian society which Bradbury paints in his novel.
The world is not just composed of communistic societies though and as a result, some may point to the free markets of capitalism and their unregulated freedoms to show the utopic nature of the world; however, an anti-utopia can also exist in a capitalistic society as seen in Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Bradbury depicts a fast paced, technology driven society where the citizens are happy amongst their ignorance towards both knowledge and personal relations. Defining the world which humans have constructed as an anti-utopia is often controversial, but Ayn Rand’s Anthem and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 provide the basis for the claim with which parallels can then be drawn between both the communistic and capitalistic societies of the world …show more content…
In his novel, Bradbury illustrates a fast paced, technologically advanced society in which the citizens experience a life of complete ignorance as the technology which surrounds them consumes their motivation and will to think for themselves. But, despite the dystopian nature of the society, the citizens believe that the society in which they live is a utopia as they can obtain both entertainment and the necessities for life easily. In reality those who look on the society see its dysfunctional and dystopic nature as the citizens are apathetic and due to a complete lack of motivation, they are unable to learn and challenge the world which surrounds them. Without an ability to learn and challenge, it is obvious that the society of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is an anti-utopia. But, unlike Rand’s Anthem Bradbury portrays a capitalistic society as the citizens work to achieve a secure financial status with which luxuries of society can then be purchased. Such a capitalistic society is not foreign to the world in which we live and the stereotypical country of capitalism is the United States of America. By some it may be considered a utopia as citizens are able to seek opportunity and further advancement, but in reality the United States resembles the anti-utopian society which Bradbury paints in his novel.