The logic underpinning dystopian fiction is radically different from the logic underpinning utopian fiction and is more similar to the logic that underpins advertising, which also came of age over the course of the twentieth century and whose growth parallels that of dystopian fiction. While this pessimistic stance of dystopian fiction has been of interest to most literary critics, Frederic Jameson‘s explanation of the spatial logic underpinning consumer capitalism suggests that, rather than simply tone being the distinguishing characteristic between utopian and dystopian literature, the two genres depart at their very core. However, the dystopian fiction that developed in the twentieth century, whose development and popularity are often credited to the military and political upheavals of the time, have departed significantly from their predecessors‘ optimism that salvation is possible for humanity. So, too, have been the utopian fictions that followed his lead over the next four-hundred years.
In developing his Utopia (1516), Thomas More drew on the many depictions of the good life present in myth since the Greek Golden Age, but his vision transformed these utopian forerunners in its insistence on egalitarianism and possibility: More‘s good life was community focused and historically grounded.
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