A Modern Utopia was first published in 1905, and tells the tale of H. G. Wells and a botanist friend holidaying in the Swiss Alps. By chance they enter a portal that transports them to a planet beyond Sirius that is geographically identical to earth and inhabited by humans. But here the resemblance stops. Instead of a multiplicity of cultures and nations, this parallel planet is strictly controlled by a world government of 'Samurai', a moral and spiritual ruling class. Technology is in the ascendant, with high-speed trains, a Channel Tunnel, and clean, electric cities. Science has provided security, health and freedom from toil. H. G. Wells believed the 'static' Utopias of Plato, More and Bacon were doomed to failure. Instead, he proposed a 'kinetic' Utopia, where continuing scientific advances prevent the ossification of a uniform society. This is a book with striking relevance for our own time, where Globalisation is proffered as a universal panacea for a troubled world.
