Bellamy’s Looking Backward, 2000–1887, Globalism, and Race

Abstract

This essay first considers the type of world that Edward Bellamy envisioned for the future and then holds his vision up for review. His society’s good points are discussed as well as the areas where Bellamy retains some of his 19th‐century limitations, especially where it comes to women’s role in the future. Because Bellamy did briefly turn to the international scene, the essay puts his version of international relations into the context of 21st‐century globalization. It is in this realm that Bellamy admits that his utopia is incomplete, a striking statement. Yet it is in the final realm of analysis—race—that Bellamy’s utopia is most swiftly criticized, since there are no people of color in America but they are to be found elsewhere on the planet. Finally, the article finishes with a few thoughts on the value of writing and reading fiction of this kind.

Keywords:

• Edward Bellamy
• Community
• Socialism
• Utopia
• Globalization
• Race

Notes

[1] Halewood also speculated, on p. 454, that Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels may have been a source for Bellamy.

[2] Rooney (1985) critiques Bellamy for not recognizing the dangers of a managerial society while listing several authors who wrote of totalitarian utopias (pp. 126–129); the others generally review the merits of capitalism and/or the value of selflessness as an incentive.

[3] According to Harrington (1989, p. 157), President Truman proposed extending the Marshall Plan to Latin America, Africa, and Asia in 1949 but met with opposition to the idea. Who knows how those regions would have fared if Truman’s proposal had been accepted. It is hard to imagine Third World nations making any progress when rivalries between various forms of capitalism have mutated since 1991 ‘in the anarchic and volatile environment of the world market’ (Gray, 1998).

[4] A college forum on ‘America’s Role in the World,’ held at Siena College on November 18, 2003, featured two speakers (former Congressmen Lloyd Meads and Steven T. Kuykendall) who argued that the United States should spend more of its resources and time fighting terrorism and promoting America’s favorable position as ‘envy of the world.’ The latter of the two goals is imposed on the US because we have the responsibility to help others be more like us, in line with the dominance which Sparke (2003) and Cohen (1998) discuss.

[5] Rhines points out that Sawyer’s lack of agency was related to the fact that his actions are strictly tied to West and his well‐being. Since blacks do not appear in the future, they are no longer necessary to assist whites. Those backward nations found in 2000, however, need assistance in becoming civilized, so their presence is required.

[6] Feagin (2000) attacks the ‘color‐blind’ defense that whites raise—in particular when it is given today but also applicable to the late 1800s: ‘[M]any individual whites assert, disingenuously, that they “don’t see race anymore, just individuals.” Today, the color‐blind ideology provides the veneer of liberality, which covers up continuing racist thought and practice that is often less overt and more disguised.’ Back in the late 1800s, racism was much more in the open but men like Bellamy and other reformers who may have harbored some racism would probably want to appear as unbiased as possible.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robin Balthrope

Robin Balthrope teaches part time for the History Department at Indiana University‐Purdue University at Indianapolis.