Reading Int 3: Visions of the future

Visions of the future

Humans have always speculated about what society may or should look like in the future and there is a long and honourable tradition of writers who have described their vision of the world in a future age. One possible division of these books is into utopias which paint a picture of an ideal society and dystopias in which the world is a much less desirable and often frightening place. 

Perhaps the most famous utopia remains Plato’s Republic, written around two and half thousand years ago, which is also partly a political manifesto proposing a form of government where philosophers kings rule in the interests of the many. In its day, this most undemocratic proposal was less controversial than it would be today, as there was a strong body of opinion in Athens that democracy was not a model form of government. While many today may find Plato’s vision unpleasant, his intention was otherwise and the book has the optimistic goal of showing how the ills of society could be cured. This optimism stands in stark contrast to George Orwell’s dystopian nightmare 1984. That book too presents a version of what society may look like in the future, but it has a quite different purpose: the aim of the book is to serve as a warning. The reader is meant to be shocked and horrified by the world of deception and tyranny it portrays, a world where the state authorities, in the form of Big Brother, have absolute control of every aspect of individuals’ lives and where truth is lost. 

Are the following statements true, false, or not given in the text? 

1. The society proposed by Plato in The Republic is democratic. 

2. George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning against communism. 

3. 1984 presents a pessimistic view of the future.