Looking Backward

Looking Backward: 2000–1887, published in 1888, is a utopian science fiction novel that imagines a future society transformed by socialism and technological advancement. The protagonist, Julian West, falls asleep in 19th-century Boston and awakens in the year 2000, where he discovers a world without poverty, class division, or crime. Bellamy’s vision of cooperative economics and social harmony inspired progressive reform movements and public debate. The novel was a bestseller and a cornerstone of American utopian literature.