It’s become a popular talking point on the conservative right to condemn the “dangers of utopianism”
And the progressive left has to hold up its hands and admit that the utopian project has indeed broken some eggs, caused some famines, founded some gulag networks etc along the way
So at a time of some cynicism towards the whole concept of “utopia”, The Culture novels of Iain M Banks are, arguablly, the only utopian science fiction that actually works
In fiction, at least. The core *narrative* problem for any future utopia is…where is the drama?
Banks solves that in two ways.
Firstly, by exploring the existential issues of loneliness, nihilism, suffering and death that still exist even for humans who live for centuries in perfect health and post-scarcity.
Secondly, the utopian Culture amuses itself by…helping…less developed civilisations become just as utopian as it is.
Could the Culture ever be…real? There’s a longform exploration of that very question upcoming on the Science Fiction podcast.
Until then, HIPPIES WITH GUNS : The Culture of Iain M Banks just now passed ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND views on the Science Fiction channel.
LINK
Damien Walter 