Open AccessUtopia and dystopia in the age of the Anthropocene
Author(s) -
Patrícia Vieira
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
esboços
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2175-7976
pISSN - 1414-722X
DOI - 10.5007/2175-7976.2020.e72386
Subject(s) - dystopia , utopia , humanity , anthropocene , vision , trilogy , aesthetics , politics , environmental ethics , modernity , human enhancement , dehumanization , sociology , philosophy , history , epistemology , political science , law , art history , anthropology
A product of Modernity, utopian and dystopian thought has always hinged upon an assessment as to whether humanity would be able to fulfil the promise of socio-economic, political and techno-scientific progress. In this paper, I argue that the predominantly dystopian outlook of the past century or so marked a move away from former views on human progress. Rather than commenting on humanity’s inability to build a better society, current dystopianism betrays the view that the human species as such is an impediment to harmonious life on Earth. I discuss the shift from utopia to dystopia (and back) as a result of regarding humans as a force that does more harm than good, and I consider the possibility of human extinction within the framework of dystopian and utopian visions. The final section of the chapter turns to Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy as a fictional example that plays out the prospect of a world in which humans have all but become extinct.