Quote:
Originally Posted by BWinmill
Are we supposed to imagine those worlds existing, or are we supposed to imagine those elements in our world taken to their illogical conclusions? .
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Well, some "dystopias" are only bad from the point of view of the protagonist so they could easily come to pass in stages. Or require an even worse world state to enable it. Others don't really need a plausible road map because they are meant as cautionary tales about elements in our world that can mess everybody up, even without going to illogical extremes.
As you pointed out, governments can and do use information control to drive their populations where they want them. Corporations, too. Historical revisionism is a fact even in "free" nations. Every time somebody screams "1984" in a political debate Orwell's shade should smile at a job well done.
Other dystopias, however, are simply crafted to provide a challenge for the protagonist and targets to blow away without much concern.
