I remember reading B.F. Skinner's Walden II at the same time that my oldest son was born. Dead serious about his formula for a clean and efficient world based upon positive reinforcement, Skinner inspired a good number of followers in the '60s but failed to produce a quality novel. A verse in Job which I have chosen to deliberately read out of context supports my case against utopias. I am fascinated by the possibility that perfection is closely allied to wickedness. I realize that science has given us more and more powerful means of controlling ourselves and each other, but we have yet to see technology shifting the balance towards goodness.
Human beings respond with various forms of self destruction in their efforts to escape coercion.
While I agree with Ames that good literature does more than represent reality, I must quarrel with his desire to control humankind and nature. Perhaps I have simply misunderstood the intent of his statement. To state my opinion without any concrete support would prove nothing. Works Cited Ames, Russell. More's Utopia and Its Critics .