My definition of a dystopia is a world aiming to be a utopia and while trying to accomplish this an environment that is the complete opposite is created. Dystopian features in the world happen very often. For example, gentrification is a process that attempts to improve the quality of neighborhoods but instead it affects many people in a negative way. Policies in the United States routinely drive people of color out of their homes and communities. Then turn these underserved communities into luxury apartments priced extremely high only for the upper class. This hurts our economy, increases violence and poverty. In “The Five Faces of Oppression” groups being formed/deform due to oppression was discussed, this example of gentrification in disadvantaged communities displays this type of oppression. When public housing gets torn down this forces residents to move from a familiar place to somewhere unfamiliar. Also, when living in a society it is always run by a group or person in charge. This person in charge can be the reason why a society is in a dystopian state. For example, Leviathan Hobbes spoke of the nature of men and how they think which correlates to how America is run because since the beginning of time it has been mainly run by men. Due to the nature of men, they feel like they are always in a competition which makes them have little trust for others. Hobbes explains how this can lead to war, a war that has no rules. The decisions made by men on behalf of the United States is an example of how a man’s nature can lead them to war. This action of war is made “for a greater cause” with no thought of the effects this decision will have on others which is how dystopias are created.
