''The Republic of the Future: or, Socialism a Reality'' is a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

by the American writer

Anna Bowman Dodd Anna Bowman Dodd (, Blake; January 21, 1858 - January 1929) was an American author from New York (state), New York. Her first book was ''Cathedral Days'' (Boston, 1887), and her second ''The Republic of the Future'' (New York, 1887), was also succ ...

, first published in 1887. The book is a

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

written in response to the

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

n literature that was a dramatic and noteworthy feature of the second half of the nineteenth century.

Dystopias

The utopian literature of Dodd's generation consisted both of famous works and others now largely forgotten, like

Laurence Gronlund Laurence Gronlund (; Available July 13, 1844 – October 15, 1899) was a Danish-born American lawyer, writer, lecturer, and political activist. Gronlund is best remembered for his pioneering work in adapting the Marxism, International Socialism ...

's popular ''The Cooperative Commonwealth'' (1884). Dodd's book was one element in a conservative reaction to this literature. Other examples of this reactive dystopian response are

William Harben William Nathaniel Harben (5 July 1858 – 7 August 1919) was an American writer active in the early 20th century. He specialized in stories about the people of the mountains of Northern Georgia. He was sometimes credited as Will N. Harben or ...

's ''The Land of the Changing Sun'' (1894) and Charles J. Bayne's ''The Fall of Utopia'' (1900). Coincidentally, Dodd's book was published a year before the appearance of

Edward Bellamy Edward Bellamy (; March 26, 1850 – May 22, 1898) was an American author, journalist, and political activist most famous for his utopian novel ''Looking Backward''. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of numer ...

's famous ''

Looking Backward ''Looking Backward: 2000–1887'' is a utopian time travel science fiction novel by the American journalist and writer Edward Bellamy first published in 1888. The book was translated into several languages, and in short order "sold a million ...

'' (1888), the great best-seller in its genre (which in turn provoked a spate of dystopian responses).

Story and significance

Dodd casts her fiction in the form of an

epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...

: Wolfgang, a Swedish aristocrat, writes letters home to his friend Hannevig while visiting New York Socialist City in the year 2050. In Dodd's fiction, Sweden retains a

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

economy, so that Wolfgang can contrast the new utopian socialist regime in New York with the more familiar forms at home. Dodd takes satirical aim at various liberal developments of her era, including the first stirrings of the

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

movement (the

ASPCA The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...

had been founded in New York in 1866). Dodd has her hero journey from Sweden to New York via a sub-oceanic transport system (operated by the

Pneumatic Tube Pneumatic tubes (or capsule pipelines, also known as pneumatic tube transport or PTT) are systems that propel cylindrical containers through networks of Tubing (material), tubes by Gas compressor, compressed air or by partial vacuum. They are use ...

Electric Company). As he goes, Wolfgang notes that aquatic life has resisted Dodd's primary targets, however, are the innovations that utopians of her age most strongly advocated,

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, and technological progress. Dodd paints a picture of a future New York as a dreary conformist society, in which the inhabitants live in identical homes and men and women dress alike. Though people work only two hours per day, they live tedious, vacuous lives. Travel is forbidden, and mediocrity is enforced by law: "All scholars, authors, artists and scientists who were found on examination to be more gifted than the average, were exiled." Children are raised in day care centers; romantic love has died out. Dodd's New Yorkers of 2050 "have the look of people who have come to the end of things and who have failed to find it amusing."Dodd, p. 23. Since she is an anti-utopian writer, Dodd does not concentrate on the technological wonders anticipated and predicted by many utopian authors; but she does give her future New Yorkers automatic elevators and bedmaking devices and similar conveniences. Technology can make things worse instead of better: traditional food has been replaced by nutrition pills. In Dodd's vision of the future, a socialist revolution occurred around 1900; the center of the city was destroyed with explosives, and rebuilt to socialist standards. Thinker and writer

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...

is enshrined in a Temple of Liberators.

Author

Anna Bowman Dodd, née Blake (1855–1929), was a native of New York City, the daughter of a merchant. She wrote a number of other works in her career, including a biography of Tallyrand and books on travel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Republic of the Future, The Dystopian novels 1887 American novels 1887 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Cassell (publisher) books Novels set in New York City Novels set in the 2050s Fiction set in 2050

Dystopias

Story and significance

Author

See also

References

External links