A utopia is an imagined social order in which human flourishing has either been perfected or realised to an exceptionally high degree. A dystopia, by contrast, is a radically dysfunctional society in which the lives of the inhabitants are significantly impaired, damaged, or otherwise undesirable. Despite being defined as opposites, however, these two terms can be seen to stand in a complex, historically variable relationship to one another. The term “dystopia”, it is important to note, is derivative of the term “utopia”, both conceptually and historically. “Utopia” was first used by Thomas More in his influential political satire Utopia (1516), a foundational text for modern utopian thought. “Utopia” constitutes a deliberate play on words, meaning
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Citation: Seeger, Sean. "Dystopia and Dystopian Literature". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 May 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19513, accessed 21 November 2024.]
