Ecotopia

a novel about ecology, people and politics in 1999

167 pages

English language

Published Nov. 15, 1978 by Pluto Press.

ISBN:
978-0-86104-026-1
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OCLC Number:
16434303

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4 stars (2 reviews)

Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston is a utopian novel by Ernest Callenbach, published in 1975. The society described in the book is one of the first ecological utopias and was influential on the counterculture and the green movement in the 1970s and thereafter. The author himself claimed that the society he depicted in the book is not a true utopia (in the sense of a perfect society), but, while guided by societal intentions and values, was imperfect and in-process.

Callenbach said of the story, in relation to Americans: "It is so hard to imagine anything fundamentally different from what we have now. But without these alternate visions, we get stuck on dead center. And we’d better get ready. We need to know where we’d like to go."

(Source: Wikipedia)

21 editions

reviewed Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach

Enjoyable, but with a lot of whitewashing

3 stars

Overall I enjoyed Callenbach's visions of a hopeful future. A few things felt out of place to me though:

The first was the "war games" which just didn't quite fit with the rest of the society, in my mind. It's quite possible I'm just missing something, but I couldn't understand why they were included or what their place in the functioning of the society was supposed to be (as a vent for toxic masculinity to express itself so that it doesn't permeate into every day life, maybe? It seems like this could be done with less injury). They're also part of broader problematic appropriation of indigenous culture by the almost exclusively white cast (more on that in a bit) in the book in a way that feels a bit tropey, which I didn't love.

Similarly, there's a very out-of-place feeling chapter in the middle where he randomly says (paraphrasing): "and …

reviewed Écotopia by Ernest Callenbach

Enfin un imaginaire positif et écologique

5 stars

Est-ce ça la sobriété heureuse ? Des les années 1970, Callenbach propose un récit ambitieux d’un monde où les questions écologiques et sociales ont été prises à bras le corps par l’État.

Dans cette découverte de ce pays sécessionniste imaginaire on découvre un futur positif ou écologie ne veut pas dire privations. Si tout n’est pas parfait, Callenbach dessine un futur paisible ou protection de l’environnement et épanouissement des personnes vont de paire.

Le récit articulé entre « articles » de William Weston et notes de son journal intime offre un bon aperçu de la transition en soi nécessaire pour déconstruire la vision accumulatrice et matérialiste que l’on nous a inculqué. D’abord cynique et hautain, Weston s’ouvre peu à peu à la culture écotopienne et comprend les valeurs et intérêts défendus.

En 2023, alors que les imaginaires climatiques et écologiques sont souvent teintés de couleurs sombres, ce récit est utiles …

Subjects

  • Fiction in English.