The Good of the World and the Happiness of the Nations: A Study of Modern Utopian and Dystopian Literature

Abstract

Concern about the future and hope for peace and happiness have always been basic elements of human life and thought. Interest in the collective fate of humanity has been expressed in many forms, including that of novels which consist of both social criticism and a visionary outlook. Nineteenth-century utopian writers believed in human progress and the perfectibility of human nature and saw history as a continuous ascent towards an ideal social order. Twentieth-century authors, disillusioned by war and social, economic, and moral disasters, see humans as savage and incapable of erecting a progressive social system. Their dystopias are visions of tyranny and decay. The writings of the Bahá’í Faith, contemporary with these works, offer a new understanding of humanity’s destiny. They teach that human beings are spiritual and noble, that humanity as a whole is reaching maturity, and that social change can and will be brought about through the inner transformation of individuals and the application of spiritual, moral, and practical solutions to the problems of the world. Thus, the unity of humanity and the establishment of a new world order are God’s purpose for this age. “World peace is not only possible but inevi­table.”