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Have you ever tried to picture[br]an ideal world?

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One without war, poverty, or crime?

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If so, you're not alone.

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Plato imagined an enlightened[br]republic ruled by philosopher kings,

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many religions promise [br]bliss in the afterlife,

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and throughout history,

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various groups have tried to build[br]paradise on Earth.

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Thomas More's 1516 book "Utopia"[br]gave this concept a name,

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Greek for "no place."

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Though the name suggested impossibility,

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modern scientific and political progress

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raised hopes of these dreams[br]finally becoming reality.

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But time and time again,[br]they instead turned into nightmares

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of war, famine, and oppression.

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And as artists began to question[br]utopian thinking,

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the genre of dystopia,[br]the not good place, was born.

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One of the earliest dystopian works[br]is Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."

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Throughout his journey, Gulliver[br]encounters fictional societies,

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some of which at first seem impressive,[br]but turn out to be seriously flawed.

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On the flying island of Laputa,

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scientists and social planners[br]pursue extravagant and useless schemes

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while neglecting the practical needs[br]of the people below.

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And the Houyhnhnm who live[br]in perfectly logical harmony

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have no tolerance for the imperfections[br]of actual human beings.

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With his novel, Swift established[br]a blueprint for dystopia,

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imagining a world where certain trends[br]in contemporary society

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are taken to extremes,

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exposing their underlying flaws.

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And the next few centuries would[br]provide plenty of material.

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Industrial technology that promised[br]to free laborers

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imprisoned them in slums[br]and factories, instead,

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while tycoons grew richer than kings.

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By the late 1800's, many feared[br]where such conditions might lead.

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H. G. Wells's "The Time Machine" imagined[br]upper classes and workers

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evolving into separate species,

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while Jack London's "The Iron Heel"[br]portrayed a tyrannical oligarchy

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ruling over impoverished masses.

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The new century brought more exciting[br]and terrifying changes.

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Medical advances made it possible[br]to transcend biological limits

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while mass media allowed instant[br]communication

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between leaders and the public.

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In Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World",[br]citizens are genetically engineered

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and conditioned to perform[br]their social roles.

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While propaganda and drugs keep[br]the society happy,

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it's clear some crucial [br]human element is lost.

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But the best known dystopias[br]were not imaginary at all.

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As Europe suffered unprecedented[br]industrial warfare,

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new political movements took power.

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Some promised to erase [br]all social distinctions,

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while others sought to unite people[br]around a mythical heritage.

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The results were real-world dystopias

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where life passed under the watchful eye[br]of the State

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and death came with ruthless efficiency[br]to any who didn't belong.

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Many writers of the time didn't[br]just observe these horrors,

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but lived through them.

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In his novel "We", Soviet writer[br]Yevgeny Zamyatin described a future

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where free will and individuality[br]were eliminated.

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Banned in the U.S.S.R., the book inspired[br]authors like George Orwell

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who fought on the front lines[br]against both fascism and communism.

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While his novel "Animal Farm" directly[br]mocked the Soviet regime,

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the classic "1984" was a broader critique[br]of totalitarianism, media, and language.

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And in the U.S.A., Sinclair Lewis's[br]"It Can't Happen Here"

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envisioned how easily democracy[br]gave way to fascism.

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In the decades after World War II,

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writers wondered what new technologies

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like atomic energy, [br]artificial intelligence, and space travel

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meant for humanity's future.

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Contrasting with popular visions[br]of shining progress,

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dystopian science fiction expanded[br]to films, comics, and games.

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Robots turned against their creators

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while TV screens broadcast[br]deadly mass entertainment.

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Workers toiled in space colonies[br]above an Earth of depleted resources

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and overpopulated, crime-plagued cities.

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Yet politics was never far away.

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Works like "Dr. Strangelove" and "Watchmen"[br]explored the real threat of nuclear war,

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while "V for Vendetta"[br]and "The Handmaid's Tale"

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warned how easily our rights could[br]disappear in a crisis.

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And today's dystopian fiction continues[br]to reflect modern anxieties

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about inequality,

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climate change,

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government power,

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and global epidemics.

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So why bother with all this pessimism?

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Because at their heart, dystopias[br]are cautionary tales,

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not about some particular government[br]or technology,

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but the very idea that humanity can be[br]molded into an ideal shape.

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Think back to the perfect world[br]you imagined.

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Did you also imagine what it would[br]take to achieve?

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How would you make people cooperate?

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And how would you make sure it lasted?

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Now take another look.

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Does that world still seem perfect?