It’s interesting to me how a modern critique by Taylor argues that the novel’s setting is not a real utopia. I took a philosophy course on utopias and dystopias

It’s interesting to me how a modern critique by Taylor argues that the novel’s setting is not a real utopia. I took a philosophy course on utopias and dystopias. Through all of the readings my biggest takeaway is that the distinction between a utopia and a dystopia is your point of view within the setting. That is to say, utopias achieve social harmony by excluding dissidents. The process of exclusion varies widely, of course. In the past the means were crude: slavery, war, closed borders. More modern “solutions” might include drugs, eugenics, or genetic engineering, or simply pretending the problem doesn’t exist. And what is the problem, anyway? It’s that people disagree, in fundamental ways, how the world should be run. These disagreements are presently held in check by a delicate balance of power and complex political processes. But utopian authors don’t want that. They want to simplify society and sweep away the complexities and ugliness of the real world. I have yet to see anyone succeed at doing that without some process of exclusion.