Abstract
What does a modern utopian program look like within contemporary science fiction? The best focus for a discussion on this topic is probably the works of the American author Kim Stanley Robinson (b. 1952). Located in the tradition of the Humanists (see below), Robinson can be regarded as a prime example of a political science fiction writer, for at least two reasons. Firstly, this is because the messages of his writings appear to be positioned distinctly to the left of the political spectrum, when compared with mainstream American politics. Secondly, this is because many of his texts work with scenarios set in the near (sometimes very near), or at any rate not too distant, future, with characters who often engage in explicitly political discussions and actions. This combination of elements makes Robinson’s works eminently suited to serve as inspiration for (and discussions on) political activism. Building in part on an analysis of Robinson’s relations with the Humanist tradition in modern science fiction, and in part on a discussion of some of the developments within utopian science fiction in general, the purpose of this chapter is therefore to extract Robinson’s political program, to the extent that it can be crystallised from reading several of his major works.
Niels Dalgaard holds a phd. in Nordic Literature and is the editor of the Danish science fiction magazine Proxima.
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- 1.
Today, the featuring of virtual reality and artificial intelligence does not turn a story into cyberpunk; these technologies are now legitimate topics for discussion in not only science fiction in general, but also any other part of literature.
- 2.
There may be a somewhat sloppy tendency to categorise any female science fiction writer from that period as being feminist. Yet, I believe that the label is justified on this occasion, as their use of the utopian impulse has primarily been as a tool for facilitating discussions on gender (in)equality. The classic example of this is, of course, Joanna Russ’ The Female Man (1976).
- 3.
An interesting exception to this rule is Ray Bradbury, whose work in general, and the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 in particular, transcends the genre boundary and is, from the 50s onward, read and discussed both within the science fiction community and in the world of literature in general.
- 4.
See also the discussions in Chaps. 2 and 4, this volume, as well as Westfahl (1996). The distinction between hard and soft science fiction may be understood in at least three different ways as: (a) a distinction in science fiction based on the natural versus the social sciences; (b) a distinction between science fiction that pays attention to accurate scientific or technical detail and science fiction that takes a more liberal approach to such matters; and (c) science fiction that is rather insensitive to matters of individual psychology or the complexity of social relations as opposed to science fiction that actively explores these matters.
- 5.
This term is not of Robinson’s devising, but represents a concept being discussed within the genre, as evidenced by Charles Stross’ earlier novel, simply entitled, Accelerando (2005).
- 6.
See also Chap. 14, this volume, for a discussion of the relations between hope in dire circumstances and the utopian tradition in science fiction (with a more specific focus on the ‘Oryx and Crake’ series by Margaret Atwood).
- 7.
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Dalgaard, N. (2017). Reinventing Utopia: Politics and Ethics of Choice in the Works of Kim Stanley Robinson. In: Baron, C., Halvorsen, P., Cornea, C. (eds) Science Fiction, Ethics and the Human Condition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56577-4_11
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