Political Theory, Science Fiction, and Utopian Literature Ursula K. Le Guin and The Dispossessed

Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed is of interest to political theorists because of its association with anarchism, and because it is thought to represent a turning point in the history of utopian/dystopian political thought, literature, and science fiction. Published in 1974, it marked a revival of utopianism after decades of dystopian writing. The widely accepted view is that The Dispossessed represents a new kind of literary utopia, called a critical utopia by Tom Moylan. The present work challenges this reading of The Dispossessed and its place in the histories of utopian/dystopian literature and science fiction. It explores the differences between traditional utopian novels and suggests that The Dispossessed is not a utopian novel but a novel about utopianism and politics. Le Guin's concerns relate more to nineteenth-century European Realists than with science fiction of utopian literature. It also claims that her theory of the novel has an affinity with ancient Greek tragedy and implies that there is a conservatism in Le Guin's work as a creative writer, which fits uneasily with her personal commitment to anarchism. Book jacket.

Tony Burns is associate professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.