Dystopia and maybe Utopia?

Previously I defined dystopia as a negative end-result that occurs as a consequence of some power structure put in place either by humans or by nature, whereby some group of individuals (of some size) end up experiencing the negative consequences of the end result of a negative power structure. Now I understand that my definition needs to be enhanced in two major ways. Firstly, we have made the distinction between a post-apocalyptic world and a dystopian world, saying that dystopian worlds essentially have the ability to be better if it were not for continuous human intervention. Therefore we can eliminate the nautralistic element from my definition. Furthermore, we see that the concept of an authority is important in defining dystopia, as evidenced by our reading of Hobbes Jungle. This authority in question is actually responsible for the pain, not the end result of their actions. Society is driven by people, and its necessary to recognize that the pain of dystopias is particularly created by those who abuse others using their authority or power.

So to enhance my definition, I would define dystopia as a society where individuals experience oppression as a result of an authoritarian power structure. I would still mostly describe this cycle as self-perpetuating, and yet dystopias can come to an end, as evidenced by our reading of Animal Farm. Also in my defintion, I would again characterize oppression as described by Iris Young’s Five Faces of Oppression, being exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. The oppression in a dystopian society must take the form of one of these faces but can take the form of multiple. Ultimately, the concept of dystopia is heavily rooted in the nature of man in regards to the systems of man, for example government, and by connecting these ideas of human nature and authority and the definitions for oppressive and authoritarian systems we can define dystopia in such a way that the inverse of the definition describes a utopia. Whether or not something like a utopia is possible is an open question that remains to be vetted and tested in our current world

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