Dystopia

This article is about the philosophical concept. For the Half-Life 2 mod, see Dystopia (computer game)

Common traits of a dystopian society

A dystopian society usually exhibits at least one of the following traits from the following non-exhaustive list:

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• social stratification, where social class is strictly defined and enforced, and social mobility is non-existent (see caste system).
• a nation-state ruled by an upper class with few democratic ideals
• state propaganda programs and educational systems that coerce most citizens into worshipping the state and its government, in an attempt to convince them into thinking that life under the regime is good and just
• strict conformity among citizens and the general assumption that dissent and individuality are bad
• a state figurehead that people worship fanatically through a vast personality cult, such as 1984's Big Brother, We's The Benefactor, or Equilibrium's Father
• a fear or disgust of the world outside the state
• a common view of traditional life, particularly organized religion, as primitive and nonsensical
• complete domination by a state religion, e.g Death-Worship in the Eastasia of 1984, the Sisterhood of Metacontrol in or the Technopriests in The Incal
• the "memory" of institutions overriding or taking precedence over human memory
• a penal system that lacks due process laws and often employs psychological or physical torture
• a lack of the key essentials of life for many citizens, like food shortages
• constant surveillance by government or other agencies
• militarized police forces and private security forces
• the banishment of the natural world from daily life
• construction of fictional views of reality that the populace are coerced into believing
• corruption, impotence or other usurpation of democratic institutions
• fictional rivalries between groups that actually operate as a cartel
• insistence by the forces of the establishment that
• it provides the best of all possible worlds
• that all problems are due to the action of its enemies and their dupes
• An overall slow decay of all systems (polical, economic, religion, infrastructure. . .) resulting from people being alienated from nature, the State, society, family, and themselves. Yesterday was better, tomorrow will be worse.
• Everything trends towards zero sum gain relationships rather than non-zero-sum relationships in a slowly decreasing system.