The Future Libertarian City in the Dystopia Love in 200 Years (1932), by Alfonso Martínez Rizo

Abstract

Dystopia is more than the negative counterpart of utopia. The opposition between the two genres is largely based on the fact that utopia is mostly descriptive, which corresponds to a static fictional world, whereas the dystopia is mostly narrative, as it introduces a dynamics of transformation in the imaginary society which is the main subject of both literary modes. The utopian city is usually presented as flawless and, therefore, unchangeable. The dystopian city hosts conflicts and may be perceived as a horizon of change, even though its ideological message is not necessarily opposed to the social order described. This opposition between utopian and dystopian literature is illustrated by the study of Love in 200 years (1932), in which the anarchist writer Alfonso Martínez Rizo shows a future libertarian city the shortcomings of which he castigates with irony and humour.