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Contemporary science fiction and right-wing politics

I suspect we'd disagree as to whether anti-tech stuff is a marker of right wing politics, but that's by they by. For me, I've always thought that even ostensibly left wing SF/fantasy has a problem with the collective. In fantasy, the hero/heroine opposes tyrannical rule, but usually in the name of the true heir to the throne. No opposition to the notion of proper authority. In parallel, the SF hero/heroine discovers what is 'going on', pretty much the conspiracy theorist who discovers a real conspiracy. Their version of putting the world to rights is the Scooby Gang, nothing really engaging with social forces. In fact 'the masses' may play a role in the denouement, but the first have to be 'roused' by member of said Scooby Gang, not a social process.

Worst example I can recall of someone who claims anarchist credentials, whilst building a career out of the 'heroic' is Michael Moorcock. Outside of his gods, goddesses and heroes, the odd 'civilian' might have a walk on part, but for the remaining 99% of the story the masses are unenlightened and off stage. He's had to address this in interviews, but never come up with a satisfactory defence afaics. Of course he's not really an anarchist, nor even a liberal anarchist. Those problems in his writing mean he's actually a liberal full stop.

One of the themes in Ursula LeGuins "The Dispossessed" is the relationship of the individual and the collective. It's an old book but still worth reading. I wouldn't call this novel either a dystopia or utopia. She is looking at how a communist society would work in practice. The problems it would have to overcome.
 
Have we not already seen various examples of this, courtesy of Stalin, Mao, Castro, Pol Pot and Kim Jong-un?

You should read the novel. It's two planets. The smaller is libertarian communism/ anarchist the other is like the world of the writers time split between Capitalist states and authoritarian communist states.
 
I've already seen many documentaries on how Communism has been a total failure. I'll skip the novel.



A rather brief "wot i rekkon" , Pickman. Could you elaborate on why Communism has not worked for those leaders who have promoted it? I predict not.
This is a thread about science fiction writing. If you want to talk about something else start a thread please.
 
I've already seen many documentaries on how Communism has been a total failure. I'll skip the novel.



A rather brief "wot i rekkon" , Pickman. Could you elaborate on why Communism has not worked for those leaders who have promoted it? I predict not.
Yes, yes I could. Go and start a thread about it
 
Worst example I can recall of someone who claims anarchist credentials, whilst building a career out of the 'heroic' is Michael Moorcock. Outside of his gods, goddesses and heroes, the odd 'civilian' might have a walk on part, but for the remaining 99% of the story the masses are unenlightened and off stage. He's had to address this in interviews, but never come up with a satisfactory defence afaics. Of course he's not really an anarchist, nor even a liberal anarchist. Those problems in his writing mean he's actually a liberal full stop.

Steady on!

I've been busy formulating a defence of Ken MacLeod and now I have to come up with one for Moorcock too?

Anyway, I like MacLeod's ideas in his books because they're so evidently coming from his reading and political development, especially his earlier stuff. Whilst this is hilariously sectarian at times, it does present situations and ideas that are new to me, but I also don't think would get developed by other writers working in SF.

Some good suggestions on here. Admittedly much of it not contemporary

good anarchist and left-wing fiction writers?

Mythmakers & Lawbreakers

Ta for the link, some good ideas in that thread. And reminded me I'm part way through The Case of Comrade Tulayev! Just have to find it and the other half a dozen Victor Serge books I'm most of the way through.
 
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I think Black Mirror is a little deeper than that, and tries to provoke dissent (quite blatently in some episodes)
Apart from that i agree. Hollywood regurgitates the christ myth, communism consistently being undermined.
Example : The Hollywood film Battle in Seattle

Battle in Seattle (2007) - IMDb

film depicts WTO closure... imo not very well at all. In fact deliberatley misleading.
White Aplha Male Leader : How are we going to do this?
Followers : Autonamousley !
not to even go into the way the film demonised the `trouble makers` (who won the day btw) and you get this disgusting subnarattive about thefucking riot cop whos wife was having a baby so thats why he got a little stressed and beat unarmed protestors and gassed them... i could go on and on
 
Again veiled insults , you cant even deal with any of the points i make. This is very good for my ego :thumbs:
 
Thanks m8e :) ....interesting place. Okokok i probably should have noticed it sometime in the past 30 years :oops:
 
you have a point there :) Well done . I hope that makes up for the other failings in your life :/

Did you like the nice disney protest film (Battle Seattle)? Is that why your being a git or do you just use the internet to vent your bile at people who dont care about you or your easily damaged ego :/

Edit--- Ok:oops: thats my insecurities.... a defensive move
 
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you have a point there :) Well done . I hope that makes up for the other failings in your life :/

Did you like the nice disney protest film (Battle Seattle)? Is that why your being a git or do you just use the internet to vent your bile at people who dont care about you or your easily damaged ego :/

Edit--- Ok:oops: thats my insecurities.... a defensive move

There is an ignore function so you can ignore individual posters.
 
Couldn't really find a better thread for this.

Interview with Kim Stanley Robinson

Opener:
The central conceit of this issue of Big Echo is that Capital is a science fictional text. If you have any immediate thoughts on that (good idea, bad idea, obvious idea, stupid idea) we’d love to know them. If you would prefer a more focused question we just had a conversation with Cory Doctorow in which he argued (with nuance) that Marxism was inherently (even essentially) techno-utopian, that it sought social transformation through technological revolution. Would you agree with that position?
 
I noticed that a lot of the “right wing” sci-fi mentioned in the OP were TV series. I would posit that you’d find a broader range of political ideology in written sci-fi. As we are seeing in the discussion, of course, but seems like that detail has been skipped over. Books don’t need the same degree of financial investment as series for broadcasting on screens, and there’s a lot less editorial control. For sure it’d still go on in writing and publishing but nowhere near to the same extent.
 
I noticed that a lot of the “right wing” sci-fi mentioned in the OP were TV series. I would posit that you’d find a broader range of political ideology in written sci-fi. As we are seeing in the discussion, of course, but seems like that detail has been skipped over. Books don’t need the same degree of financial investment as series for broadcasting on screens, and there’s a lot less editorial control. For sure it’d still go on in writing and publishing but nowhere near to the same extent.
there wouldn't need to be much editorial control with books as so many of them - even ones which go on to become best sellers - are rejected many times before finding a publisher, if indeed they ever do.
 
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