Meda A Tale Of The Future

Excerpt from Meda: A Tale of the Future Meda: a Tale of the Future, was written during the year 1888. Some friends having seen the ms. Expressed a desire to have printed copies. To gratify the wishes of these indulgent readers this little book has been printed. If a copy should by chance fall into the hands of any outside friendship's pale. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

AS you are aware I am an artist. My profession has brought me into close contact with nature in all its grandeur, in all its beauty, and in all its purity. I have spent months and months in solitudes, far, far away from what is called civilisation, yes, far away from cities, towns and villages. Ah! these were indeed days of pleasure. It was in these solitudes that I was able to grasp, if but in a small degree, the goodness of the Creator and the beauty of His works. While I saw the grand effects of landscape; while I saw the flitting gleams of beauty caused by a dash of sunshine breaking through the clouds; while I saw the vast mountains raising their mighty heads above me; while I saw the mirror-like lake below me; while I saw the plants, the mosses, the lichens, all full of silent beauty; while I heard the skylark's charming note enchanting my ears with sweet melody as he floated warbling above his nest; while I saw the bees all busy gleaning their winter's stores; while I saw the butterflies decked with all their radiant beauty, I could not help thinking how different was this ever varying scene of love, harmony, and contentment, with the city-created dens of iniquity,—the great haven and boasted creation of so-called civilized man. After many years of pleasure and activity in pursuit of my profession, I bethought me that I was not doing my duty to my fellows in avoiding city life I felt that I was living in selfishness, if I did not endeavour to do something for the advantage of mankind, and, knowing as I did the degraded life that the majority of city people lived, I determined to try my powers of reforming. Being of an enthusiastic nature, I set to work in this vast city of ours, labouring early and late, spending all the time I could spare in this work of attempted reform. At first my enthusiasm led me to think I was making progress, but alas! all I was able to do amounted to very little indeed. I redoubled my efforts, but while undoubtedly some good had come out of my work there was so much to do, and I was so earnest, that I overtasked my strength. I became weak and excitable, and at last I had to give way to nature. My strength failed me; I took ill; and was confined to the house for months. Getting rather better I was foolish enough to enter into an election contest, supporting the faction I thought best. Of the hard work I went through during this contest I remember very little.

An examination of how Western visions of endless future growth have contributed to the global environmental crisis For centuries, the West has produced stories about the future in which humans use advanced science and technology to transform the earth. Michael Rawson uses a wide range of works that include Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis, the science fiction novels of Jules Verne, and even the speculations of think tanks like the RAND Corporation to reveal the environmental paradox at the heart of these narratives: the single-minded expectation of unlimited growth on a finite planet. Rawson shows how these stories, which have long pervaded Western dreams about the future, have helped to enable an unprecedentedly abundant and technology-driven lifestyle for some while bringing the threat of environmental disaster to all. Adapting to ecological realities, he argues, hinges on the ability to create new visions of tomorrow that decouple growth from the idea of progress.

Max Nettlau’s Utopian Vision gives a historically grounded presentation of the entire literature of utopianism. Nettlau shows an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. He passionately believes that the value of utopian thinking and class struggle should not be underestimated as utopian desire exists in all of us. Utopian thinking, according to Nettlau, stimulates the imagination and awakens the desire to attain a better life for everyone. Without it, human progress is impossible.