Revolt Against the Modern Utopia: The Threat of Collectivism in Three Early 20th Century Technological Dystopias
Revolt Against the Modern Utopia: The Threat of Collectivism in Three Early 20th Century Technological Dystopias

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to analyze the relationship between the coercive power of the totalitarian state and the revolt of the individual against it in three dystopias written in the first decades of the 20th century: Owen Gregory’s Meccania: The Super-State, Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We and Ayn Rand’s Anthem. By focusing on the values that the authors attribute to scientific and technological development, be they positive or negative, I intend to show that these dystopias are also anti-utopias, since they criticize not only historical regimes, but also utopianism in general as a way of thinking. My examination treats these texts as fictional demonstrations against utopian projections, highlighting the excesses they may lead to if put into practice without reflecting on the consequences of treating the individual only as an insignificant part of a larger whole.

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