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Equality
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25 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1897
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About the author
Charles Dudley Warner
882 books22 followersCharles Dudley Warner was an American essayist, novelist, and friend of Mark Twain, with whom he co-authored the novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.
Warner travelled widely, lectured frequently, and was actively interested in prison reform, city park supervision, and other movements for the public good. He was the first president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and, at the time of his death, was president of the American Social Science Association.
Warner travelled widely, lectured frequently, and was actively interested in prison reform, city park supervision, and other movements for the public good. He was the first president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and, at the time of his death, was president of the American Social Science Association.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 13, 2019
The sequel for "Looking Backward 2000", "Equality" fills in the myriad of missing details from its predecessor, revealing the real genius of Edward Bellamy, communist/socialist mastermind and a penchant for the calculus of equality.
Starting at the real puzzle of why people chose capitalist over socialists. It's simple capitalists can bribe you while at the same time they exploit you and yours. He finishes with the answer to the new women, although it might have been a work in progress as he contemplated the marriage of his daughter to the visitor. I any case I found it a very inspiring read, particularly as it reflects on the #FreedomDividend promoted by Andrew Yang.
Starting at the real puzzle of why people chose capitalist over socialists. It's simple capitalists can bribe you while at the same time they exploit you and yours. He finishes with the answer to the new women, although it might have been a work in progress as he contemplated the marriage of his daughter to the visitor. I any case I found it a very inspiring read, particularly as it reflects on the #FreedomDividend promoted by Andrew Yang.
August 14, 2024
An important book that seems to be nearly forgotten, a follow-up to the runaway bestseller, Looking Backward, 2000-1887. This book lacks some of the charm of the original book in that there is little of the cover story (Julian West awakens 113 years later to find a new world) that was charming.
This book continues that story and is mostly a series of essays that are explanations from the Doctor (who harbors West) to West. The book was conceived as a way to deepen the arguments from the earlier novel as way to address questions and criticisms of the earlier work. And so if you were bored or hated the earlier work, no need to read this one. But if you were intrigued (as I was) by the utopian world envisioned in Looking Backward, this is an essential book. Bellamy's mind is brilliant and he anticipates all kinds of arguments against a world based on the principle of equality, many arguments which are still pertinent today with arguments with those who believe in an unfettered free market.
There are parts of the book that drone on and on (reminding me of John Galt droning on and on in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged) but there are other parts that remind you of how brilliant Bellamy's mind was.
This book continues that story and is mostly a series of essays that are explanations from the Doctor (who harbors West) to West. The book was conceived as a way to deepen the arguments from the earlier novel as way to address questions and criticisms of the earlier work. And so if you were bored or hated the earlier work, no need to read this one. But if you were intrigued (as I was) by the utopian world envisioned in Looking Backward, this is an essential book. Bellamy's mind is brilliant and he anticipates all kinds of arguments against a world based on the principle of equality, many arguments which are still pertinent today with arguments with those who believe in an unfettered free market.
There are parts of the book that drone on and on (reminding me of John Galt droning on and on in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged) but there are other parts that remind you of how brilliant Bellamy's mind was.
February 5, 2021
I give it 4 rather than 5 stars only because it could have been written as a better story instead of being a connected set of lectures/dialogs expounding on a hypothetical revolution and utopia.
This novelish, written over a century ago, repeatedly makes points that could still be made today, and gives a Lot of insight into how things have and have not changed since that time. As a story it is not particularly enjoyable, because there's no particular plot and the characters are all but cardboard. As an exploration of utopian ideas it's much much better than average. He goes into some depth (perhaps too much in some cases) about the Why of things, which automatically puts him above most authors in my book.
For those interested in this book or in Looking Backward, to which this is a sequel; i would also recommend Mack Reynold's remakes of each, which are roughly the same books but with different emphasis due to different times/authors.
This novelish, written over a century ago, repeatedly makes points that could still be made today, and gives a Lot of insight into how things have and have not changed since that time. As a story it is not particularly enjoyable, because there's no particular plot and the characters are all but cardboard. As an exploration of utopian ideas it's much much better than average. He goes into some depth (perhaps too much in some cases) about the Why of things, which automatically puts him above most authors in my book.
For those interested in this book or in Looking Backward, to which this is a sequel; i would also recommend Mack Reynold's remakes of each, which are roughly the same books but with different emphasis due to different times/authors.
March 31, 2021
Imaginative response to the critiques of Looking Backwards.
January 15, 2013
I enjoyed this book but could only give it three stars due to it being just too unrealistic. I realize it describes what has now become a utopion nation, however that nations' (the US) transformation into a utopian one is just too far fetched. By the time you get halfway through the book and Julian asks Dr. Leete a question about how one of the many changes went and Dr. Leete's respons is pretty much "easily" you want to say "Of course it was", with heavy sarcasm.
I don't think our current economic situation and the past revelations of abuses by the business and financial sector help the reader in being able to believe in the the way the trasnformation went, especially when at the end of the book Dr. Leete mentions how the capitalists, while initially opposed to any such thing, became advocates of it after seeing how it benefitted all. Yeah, right!!
I enjoyed the first book, Looking Backward, much better.
I don't think our current economic situation and the past revelations of abuses by the business and financial sector help the reader in being able to believe in the the way the trasnformation went, especially when at the end of the book Dr. Leete mentions how the capitalists, while initially opposed to any such thing, became advocates of it after seeing how it benefitted all. Yeah, right!!
I enjoyed the first book, Looking Backward, much better.
October 18, 2021
Insulting in every definition of the word. The Bible of white male exceptionalism.
Racist, sexist, colonial, arrogant, ignorant etc.
However he was an easy to read writer and his work flows well. It’s just dominated by his privilege at the time which made him feel that everyone below him was there because they were naturally inferior, rather than because of oppression.
Racist, sexist, colonial, arrogant, ignorant etc.
However he was an easy to read writer and his work flows well. It’s just dominated by his privilege at the time which made him feel that everyone below him was there because they were naturally inferior, rather than because of oppression.
September 3, 2013
Didn't like it as much as the first book was quite good I thought it was interesting to see the view on the utopian society since that's what people wanted back in the 1890's and even a little before that. It's something we seem to strive for in a way but it just seems to unrealistic.
September 16, 2016
too much 'preaching'
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews