Thorsten Bagschik

Utopias in the English-speaking World and the Perception of Economic Reality Thorsten Bagschik

Utopian writing has created many depictions of imaginary societies. In these, more perfect principles are applied in order to arrive at an ideal state. The foregoing study contrasts the illustrations of economic systems in selected Utopian works including More's Utopia (1516), Bellamy's Looking Backwards (1888), Morris' News from Nowhere (1890), Huxley's Brave New World (1932) and Callenbach's Ecotopia (1975). Taking into account the historical and personal background of the writers, the roles, characteristics and feasibility of their Utopian economies are studied.