Utopia X by Scott Wilson

Posted on June 29, 2009 
Filed under Books, Fiction and tagged , , , , , ,

First of all, just a quick note for those who are afraid that I’ve slammed my flag into Bookreviewbabes.com and claimed it in the name of Natalina, Don’t worry!  Cheryl is on vacation (or holiday, as I believe they call it in her neighborhood) and she will return.  In the meantime, read on for another of my thrilling reviews.

utopia x scott wilson

Utopia X by Scott Wilson has long been one of my favorites.  Contrary to what you may believe given my prior reviews, this is the genre I’m usually most excited to sink my brain into.  It is a novel about mind control, out of control government, oppression, and hypersensitivity. Although it is not as well known, I’d put this book in the category of Nineteen Eighty Four, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, It Can’t Happen Here, and even Watership Down. All books that transcend the time in which they were written, and deliver a cautionary sucker punch in our current world climate.

So, the main question of the novel is this.  How does one criticize political correctness without sounding like an insensitive Philistine?  And what happens when a Government hijacks speech an outlaws insensitivity?  Would it increase a sense of oneness and compassion, or would it rob everyone of their identity, and benefit only those who are most likely to oppress the very people they claim to be protecting?

This may sound like a complicated thesis, but it is laid out brilliantly by Wilson.  The year is 2048, and a fascist government is set up under the guise of anti-racism and compassion.  But the ultimate goal is not harmony at all, but control.  By wiping away freedom of speech, no matter how vile it may sometimes be, what really goes away is culture.  The law hurts everyone, because it strips them of their individuality.  The “equality” that the government claims to strive for actually ends up secretly being mandated inequality, and the nation swirls into unending poverty and pain.

Enter a group of rebels who are comprised of a rag tag group of what we would call “Average Joes”.  They formulate a plan to defend freedom for all.  I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll simply add that there is a ray of hope in here.  Something that other novels of this bent tend to gloomily lack.

Sinclair Lewis spoke about fascism coming to America in the ruse of  patriotism.  This book draws that conclusion as well.   The first time I read it, I thought about the parallels between this and Orwell’s Big Brotherly nightmare in 1984.  When I re-read it more recently, I began to see the reflection of this book in my own observation of our government.  And I don’t mean this as a knock against the current administration, the last one, or any prior.  I tend to believe that the real puppet masters of government are not those standing behind the podiums.  But that’s a discussion for my other blog ;)

But look at the similarities.  The powers that be in this book subject citizens to unending war of questionable origin, a tightening of liberties under the false bogeyman of protection and security, and promises of universal fellowship that are on the surface brilliant, but underneath are designed to lift up the aristocracy and further undermine the middle class.

It is a timeless tale of warning against complacency.  It is a dire look at the PC movement, that has wonderful intentions, but can at times be lead astray by a lack of focus on the consequences of too much control over speech and ultimately thought.   Those who are extremely sensitive may have a hard time with this novel.  I will admit that my own foundations were a little shaken after delving into this story.  Ultimately, I think it serves as an apt warning against the sacrifice of liberty in exchange for security. It is not written from a conservative or liberal bent.  You will not come away from this novel feeling propagandized.   However, you may walk away from Utopia X reevaluating your own long held ideals of what a perfect world would actually be like.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”

xoxo

Natalina

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