Utopias

Howard P. Segal is Bird Professor of History at the University of Maine, where he has taught since 1986. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. His previous books include Technological Utopianism in American Culture (1985), Future Imperfect: The Mixed Blessings of Technology in America (1994), Technology in America: A Brief History (1989, 1999, with Alan Marcus), and Recasting the Machine Age: Henry Ford's Village Industries (2005). He also reviews for, among other publications, Nature and the Times Higher Education.

"Segal does not shy away from bold definitions and delineations to separate utopias from millenarianism and science fiction, from abstract utopias and daydreams. ...Utopias is an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to utopias and utopianism and will appeal to scholars, students, and the general reader alike."  (Utopian Studies, 1 October 2015)"In the capable hands of Howard P. Segal, professor of history at the University of Maine, technology rightfully has an important role in the imagination of alternative societies. His concise, well-written book covers utopias ancient and modern, Western and non-Western, and it is not limited to fiction conventionally labeled utopian but includes world’s fairs, social science, digital media, prophecies, millennial movements, and science fiction."  (Technology and Culture, 1 October 2015)“To conclude: Segal’s book on utopias is a well-made treatise on an important aspect of European and American history. He convincingly shows that utopias had a political, as well as an economic, relevance. The view on the interaction between different cultural systems, such as art, politics, religion, technology, and economics, is a great strength of the book. It shows how complex processes around utopian visions have been, and how relevant they are for the implementation and change of different cultural spheres.”  (Religion, 30 May 2015)“Segal does a good job of surveying the history of utopias, particularly focusing on the connections with science and technology. Histories of this topic tend to highlight the religious or cultural motivations for writing about or creating utopian societies, but here the author expands the discussion to include virtual communities … This text provides a unique approach for teaching history and the history of science. Highly recommended: general readers; lower-division undergraduates and above.” Choice (1 February 2013)“Segal brings considerable scholarship and experience to bear, particularly on the historical intersections between technology and utopia ... [He] covers several continents and many centuries, addressing key texts and thinkers ... [and] supplies impressive coverage and thoughtful interpretations.” Times Higher Education (12 July 2012)

• Preface xi Introduction 11 The Nature of Utopias 5Utopias Defined 5Utopias Differ from both Millenarian Movements and Science Fiction 8Utopias' Spiritual Qualities are Akin to those of Formal Religions 9Utopias'Real Goal: Not Prediction of the Future but Improvement of the Present 12How and When Utopias are Expected to be Established 132 The Variety of Utopias 16The Global Nature of Utopias: Utopias are Predominantly but not Exclusively Western 16The Several Genres of Utopianism: Prophecies and Oratory, Political Movements, Communities, Writings, World's Fairs, Cyberspace 243 The European Utopias and Utopians and Their Critics 47The Pioneering European Visionaries and Their Basic Beliefs: Plato's Republic and More's Utopia 47Forging the Connections Between Science, Technology, and Utopia 50The Pansophists 53The Prophets of Progress: Condorcet, Saint-Simon, and Comte 55Dissenters from the Ideology of Unadulterated Scientific and Technological Progress: Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, and William Morris 58The Expansive Visions of Robert Owen and Charles Fourier 60The "Scientific"Socialism of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels 664 The American Utopias and Utopians and Their Critics 74America as Utopia: Potential and Fulfillment 74The Pioneering American Visionaries and their Basic Beliefs in America as Land of Opportunity: John Adolphus Etzler, Thomas Ewbank, and Mary Griffith 78America as "Second Creation": Enthusiasm and Disillusionment 815 Growing Expectations of Realizing Utopia in the United States and Europe 89Later American Technological Utopians: John Macnie Through Harold Loeb 89Utopia Within Sight: The American Technocracy Crusade 96Utopia Within Reach: "The Best and the Brightest"—Post-World War II Science and Technology Policy in the United States and Western Europe and the Triumph of the Social Sciences 99On Misreading Frankenstein: How Scientific and Technological Advances have Changed Traditional Criticisms of Utopianism in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 1236 Utopia Reconsidered 139The Growing Retreat from Space Exploration and Other Megaprojects 139Nuclear Power: Its Rise, Fall, and Possible Revival—Maine Yankee as a Case Study 142The Declining Belief in Inventors, Engineers, and Scientists as Heroes; in Experts as Unbiased; and in Science and Technology as Social Panaceas 157Contemporary Prophets for Profit: The Rise and Partial Fall of Professional Forecasters 160Post-colonial Critiques of Western Science and Technology as Measures of "Progress"1697 The Resurgence of Utopianism 186The Major Contemporary Utopians and Their Basic Beliefs 186Social Media: Utopia at One's Fingertips 193Recent and Contemporary Utopian Communities 194The Star Trek Empire: Science Fiction Becomes Less Escapist 199Edutopia: George Lucas and Others 203The Fate of Books and Newspapers: Utopian and Dystopian Aspirations 2178 The Future of Utopias and Utopianism 234The "Scientific and Technological Plateau"and the Redefinition of Progress 234Conclusion: Why Utopia Still Matters Today and Tomorrow 241Further Reading 261Index 269