An Ambiguous Utopia

Abstract

The article begins with a discussion of some Christian and secular ideas about utopia. It shows that after the Enlightenment it has become difficult to conceptualize true utopias while postmodernism has been preoccupied with dystopian visions of the future. The ambiguous nature of utopianism is reflected particularly in science fiction, which powerfully reflects contemporary aspirations and anxieties, and this ambiguity is here explored with special reference to the work of the novelist Ursula Le Guin.