The Chronicle of Higher Education has a great piece called “Biology, Culture, and Persistent Literary Utopias” that I’m sure all of you will find interesting. The primary focus of the article is a common unifying them in most dystopian literature, mainly the “denial of biology.”
Literary dystopias have this in common: They are imagined societies in which the deepest demands of human nature are either subverted, perverted, or simply made unattainable.
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In justifying this nightmare society [in George Orwell’s 1984], Winston’s torturer, O’Brien, explains: “You are imagining that there is something called human nature which will be outraged by what we do and will turn against us. But we create human nature. Men are infinitely malleable.”
Sound familiar? In this age where 1984 and Brave New World are constantly cited by left-wing opponents of such things as the PATRIOT Act, it’s good to see some authors out there pointing out things that these very same critics might otherwise ignore because it contradicts their ideology. I had completely forgotten that O’Brien quote, but I’m sure a great many individuals on the left would agree with him (not all, mind you).
So check it out! Also, I’ll be posting a great essay by a political scientist that applies sociobiology to international relations theory soon, so keep a look out on this site for it! Wait until you see how this guy’s opponents start citing Gould and Lewontin…
Posted by arcane at 11:32 PM