Proceedings of the National Conference On Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2020 Montana State University, Bozeman MT March 26-28, 2020
American Nightmare: An Examination of Ideology in Political Dystopia Grant Mooney Political Science University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth 285 Old Westport Road North Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02790 USA Faculty Advisor: Dr. Robert Darst Abstract This article will analyze the evolution of American political ideology through dystopian fiction. The works selected for this article run a wide range of books spanning from The Iron Heel by socialist Jack London (1907) to the openly fascist The Day of the Rope by Devon Stack (2018). This work will then use a blended approach of historical and political analysis to analyze each work for its overall ideology and how it fits into the larger American historical narrative. This process will look at four parts of each dystopian work: culture, government, sovereignty, and institutions. These attributes will be applied to the dystopian work to assess what the author presents as a danger and assess what alternatives they may present. These analyses will then be viewed considering the broader historical narrative to understand how they reflect American political ideology's overall evolution. Ultimately, in the examined works, several major patterns arose. First, authoritarianism is a significant feature of dystopian governments but is not exclusively dystopian. A recurring theme amongst fascist and reactionary authors is to present their dystopia as an authoritarian anti-White society while their utopia is a thinly veiled White supremacist state. Liberalism, concurrently, is also not viewed by most authors as a panacea. Left-leaning authors tend to condemn its free-market economic system as an entrance point for oligarchs and corrupt bankers. In contrast, reactionaries and fascists condemn both its social egalitarianism and economic openness as a ploy for cultural genocide. Secondly, despite usually being set in the near future, virtually all the examined dystopias seem to be inspired by the past and how those events connect to the present. As a result, the examined works tend to match up with certain historical reference points that shape their overall narrative. Finally, the overall image of the preferred outcome, or utopia, is more concrete among reactionary and fascist authors than with their more left-wing counterparts. This is likely done in service of their overall goal to provide timely warnings about what they see as rising threats in American society and how they connect to contemporary events. Keywords: American Politics, Identity, History
1. Introduction Science fiction, which has long occupied a special place in the American popular culture, is frequently treated as a sort of "minor" creative work. Gaining popularity during the early 1900s, many mainstream authors considered it to be a comparatively unrefined writing area, fit only for pulp novels and niche magazines. 1 However, as discussed by Aaron Santesso in "Fascism and Science Fiction," this understanding of the genre belies its surprisingly complex political messages. The narrative structure of science fiction novels usually features a protagonist either fending off an incoming alien horde or working to wipe out a villainous alien species.2 This pattern results in what Santesso has suggested is a recurring theme of fascism that cuts against the supposedly socialist tendency of science fiction novels.3 Dystopian novels, while not as inherently fascist, are similarly open to political messaging. Most dystopian works follow a generic structure of a protagonist living in a state that has seemingly perfected the oppression and punishment of its citizens. This hero, usually in conjunction with other members of a resistance movement or other countergovernment force, eventually work to rebel against this system and achieve a new life. Ergo, this opportunity to present