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Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887 was an attempt to show Americans
who desired the utopian sense of community what it could truly be. Looking
Backward addressed the yearnings of a society stricken by economic panics and
social collapse by proposing an Eden-like community in which war, hunger, greed
and malice were eradicated from society. While the story followed the wonderment
of Julian West as he awoke in a Boston of 2000 AD after 113 years of sleep, the
text focused on Bellamy's description through the kindly and omniscient
character, Dr. Leete of a post-revolutionary society which emancipated the
individual from the horrors of capitalism. As the story progresses, it becomes
obvious that Bellamy is simply trying to suggest ways in which to improve his
own society at the time whether it be politics or business practices. The first
thing Julian inquires about his the problem of labor strikes, something very
prominent in his time due to the newly formed labor unions. “The National Labor
Union (NLU) hailed the virtues of a simpler America, when workers controlled
their workday, earned a decent living, and had time to be good citizens”
(Davidson, Nation of Nations, 626). Dr. Leete explains that with generous
capital, any worker with a decent idea can become his own boss and the need for
unions and strikes desisted. This was something that had begun occurring already
in Bellamy’s time, as had monopolies. This was the second step in the
eradication of strikes as companies began to aggregate and form large
syndicates. Finally, the largest syndicate of all, the government took over all
industry. “When it was proposed that the nation should assume their functions
(corporations), the suggestions implied nothing impractical even to the timid”
(Bellamy, Looking Backward, 67). With this in mind, Julian asks who the enemies
of the government are, whether they are other nations or natural ills. Dr. Leete
responds with the mind-blowing realization of a perfect society. “We have no
wars now…but in order to protect every citizen against hunger, cold, nakedness,
and provide for his physical and mental needs, the function is assumed of
directing his industry for a term of years” (Bellamy, Looking Backward, 68). The
next major question was unemployment. During the any era, this is always going
to be problem. Though a person who is educated can generally get a job, an
uneducated person can only do menial labor. In the 19th century, there weren’t
enough jobs to go around so many were forced to beg or wait in long lines
outside factories for work. However, the so-called industrial army provided jobs
for one and all not to mention free and mandatory education up to the equivalent
of college.
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