LOOKING BACK AT 'LOOKING BACKWARD'

LOOKING BACK AT 'LOOKING BACKWARD'

11/22/2020

link

https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/17/books/looking-back-at-looking-backward-we-have-seen-the-future-and-it-didn-t-work.html

summary

In this retrospective article, the author looks back on the 1888 novel 'Looking Backward' by Edward Bellamy and examines its accuracy in predicting the future. The novel depicts a utopian society set in the year 2000, but the author argues that many of the predictions made in the book did not come to fruition. The article discusses how Bellamy's vision of a socialist society and his ideas about labor, gender roles, and technological advancements fell short of becoming a reality. The author provides a critical analysis of the novel's impact and suggests that while it may have been influential at the time of its publication, it ultimately failed to accurately envision the future.

tags

literature ꞏ book review ꞏ looking backward ꞏ fictional future ꞏ utopian novels ꞏ dystopian novels ꞏ social criticism ꞏ 19th century literature ꞏ political commentary ꞏ economic theories ꞏ socialist ideas ꞏ utopia ꞏ alternate history ꞏ future visions ꞏ envisioning the future ꞏ literary analysis ꞏ social reform ꞏ literary criticism ꞏ cultural critique ꞏ social issues ꞏ time travel ꞏ speculative fiction ꞏ social progress ꞏ societal change ꞏ political novels ꞏ envisioning society ꞏ technological advancements ꞏ social justice ꞏ economic systems ꞏ political ideologies ꞏ cultural context ꞏ future society