The Dispossessed

Ursula le Guin is one of my favourite authors.  I only discovered her a few years ago when she was referenced in the movie version of "The Jane Austen Book Club".  Since then I have been metering out her books so that I don't run out too soon.  I have been saving this book for a while and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint. 

The Dispossessed is a fantastically complex novel and yet it is a very engrossing read.  Le Guin has an amazing talent for exploring weighty themes in her novels without the character or plot becoming staid or "preachy".
 
The dilemmas and conflicts face by the main character, Shevek, take us through a wide range of issues and ultimately address our ideas of utopia and meaning.  And, being good science fiction, there is also a good dose of ethics, gender issues, psychology (with a not-so-subtle reference to the Stanford Prison Experiment), speculative physics and of course, relationship concerns. 

Capitalism, Socialism and Anarchism are all treated with an even hand.  History has already shown us some of the possible pitfalls in capitalism and socialism.  In some ways The Dispossessed  is a thought experiment in Anarchism, and, given that le Guin has no historical examples of how a large Anarchist society might work, I think she gives a convincing account.  The ideals of anarchism are respected even while showing the difficulties in practical application that may occur and indeed compound over time.

It was particularly good timing for me to read this as I am currently study a 1st Political Science unit:  The Liberal Democratic State.   It has been fascinating and informative to study the early ideology of Liberalism and see how this has, in practice, delivered many unintended consequences in our contemporary capitalist and individualistic society.  As we scratch our heads and wonder what are our alternatives I think that le Guin's offering can perhaps help us to think a little more broadly and creatively.