Michaela Lange: I am here today with author Edward Bellamy who is going to tell us a little more about his critically acclaimed novel, Looking Backward 2000-1887. Hello, good morning, Mr. Bellamy. How are you doing today?
Edward Bellamy: I’m doing fine. Thanks, Michaela.
ML: Good. I am glad to hear that. So, let’s dive right in then. Now, what was your intended purpose for writing Looking Backward 2000-1887?
EB: Many people say I wrote this novel as a template for political action. This simply is not true. My intended purpose was to relay my ideas of how to improve society and relieve our country of its social deficits through the abandonment of competition and establishment of state ownership of industry. This was not always an easy task. …show more content…
I needed my readers to know that while I have issues with the way America works, I do respect and value a lot of its social dynamics.
ML: How do you feel about some of your critics calling you a socialist?
EB: I do not like the term “socialist”. Socialism has a bad connotation in American society, so to identify as a socialist have been harmful to my career. While I do share some of my ideas and beliefs with socialists, socialists tend to be a lot more radical than I am. Extreme radicalism was simply not something American society could handle during the Gilded Age. I call myself a nationalist, and I think that is more of what my book encompasses. I saw America’s deficiencies and wanted to do whatever I could to help. I do so by stating my ideas in this novel.
ML: I see. So do you feel socialism influenced any of your ideas?
EB: In my late twenties, I developed a severe case of tuberculosis and, in an effort to regain my health, spent a year in the Hawaiian Islands. At the time, Hawaii was not a state and was very different and relatively unaffected by the American economy and industrialization. This year allowed me to step back from American society and form my own observations and conclusions without any influence. This more than anything affected my opinion on what America needed, not socialistic ideas of
Edward Bellamy: I’m doing fine. Thanks, Michaela.
ML: Good. I am glad to hear that. So, let’s dive right in then. Now, what was your intended purpose for writing Looking Backward 2000-1887?
EB: Many people say I wrote this novel as a template for political action. This simply is not true. My intended purpose was to relay my ideas of how to improve society and relieve our country of its social deficits through the abandonment of competition and establishment of state ownership of industry. This was not always an easy task. …show more content…
I needed my readers to know that while I have issues with the way America works, I do respect and value a lot of its social dynamics.
ML: How do you feel about some of your critics calling you a socialist?
EB: I do not like the term “socialist”. Socialism has a bad connotation in American society, so to identify as a socialist have been harmful to my career. While I do share some of my ideas and beliefs with socialists, socialists tend to be a lot more radical than I am. Extreme radicalism was simply not something American society could handle during the Gilded Age. I call myself a nationalist, and I think that is more of what my book encompasses. I saw America’s deficiencies and wanted to do whatever I could to help. I do so by stating my ideas in this novel.
ML: I see. So do you feel socialism influenced any of your ideas?
EB: In my late twenties, I developed a severe case of tuberculosis and, in an effort to regain my health, spent a year in the Hawaiian Islands. At the time, Hawaii was not a state and was very different and relatively unaffected by the American economy and industrialization. This year allowed me to step back from American society and form my own observations and conclusions without any influence. This more than anything affected my opinion on what America needed, not socialistic ideas of