Anti-Dystopia – A Third Way Between Utopia and Dystopia

A concept developed by Isabella Hermann

Historical Context: The Dystopian Boom

The 21st century has witnessed an unprecedented surge in dystopian discourse. In German media alone, the use of “Dystopie” increased 25-fold over 25 years, while “dystopisch” exploded by over 700 times from a single mention in 1998 to over 700 in 2023.¹ This dramatic rise reflects growing societal anxiety about the future, but it also creates new problems.

Contemporary dystopias no longer primarily serve as anti-utopian warnings. Instead, they extrapolate current negative trends, potentially becoming self-fulfilling prophecies that promote resignation rather than action. As Hermann notes, there’s a risk that the “massive occurrence and consumption” of dystopian narratives leads to “radical pessimism and helplessness.”² Some cultural critics even speak of a “post-dystopian age” where present reality has replaced the dystopian genre, and dystopia becomes a general life feeling.³

This crisis of imagination—where we can more easily envision the end of the world than alternatives to our current systems—demands new narrative approaches that neither retreat into utopian fantasy nor surrender to dystopian fatalism.

Origin and Development

Isabella Hermann, a political scientist and science fiction scholar, developed the concept of anti-dystopia through her research into future narratives and science fiction. Her 2025 book “Zukunft ohne Angst – Wie Anti-Dystopien neue Perspektiven eröffnen‘ published April 2025, available in German) establishes this framework as a response to the contemporary dystopian boom. Hermann, who also serves as co-director of the Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest and has worked as program director of the Present Futures Forum at the Technical University Berlin, discovered the term through a review of “The Ministry for the Future” and has since developed it into a comprehensive theoretical framework. Hermann discussed her work in detail in an interview on the Kritische Zukunftsforschung Podcast (in German).

Core Concept

Hermann’s concept of anti-dystopia represents an emerging approach to future narratives that seeks to overcome the traditional dichotomy between utopia and dystopia. Rather than depicting either perfect societies (utopia) or cautionary tales of societal collapse (dystopia), anti-dystopia focuses on active resistance against negative futures while acknowledging the complexity and imperfection of human society.

Theoretical Foundation

Hermann’s Definition: Three Defining Characteristics

According to Hermann’s framework, anti-dystopia is defined by three essential characteristics:⁴

1. Begins in Anthropocene Catastrophes: Anti-dystopian narratives start directly or indirectly in the human-made catastrophes of our current era—climate crisis, biodiversity loss, social inequality, technological disruption.

2. Decouples Catastrophe from Dystopia: Through the core values of justice, community, and change, these narratives separate catastrophic events from dystopian outcomes, showing that disaster doesn’t inevitably lead to oppressive social systems.

3. Inherently Imperfect: Anti-dystopian efforts are characterized as contradictory, dynamic, and continuous striving for improvement without a perfect end goal.

The Three Core Values

Hermann identifies three fundamental values that drive anti-dystopian resistance:⁵

Gerechtigkeit (Justice): All people are equal and should be treated fairly. This operates on multiple levels—from individual interactions to global structures.

Gemeinschaft (Community): People participate in decision-making and collaborate, respecting differences and understanding diversity as enrichment rather than threat.

Veränderung (Change/Transformation): Acceptance and active shaping of constant and inevitable transformation processes, viewing change not as burden but as necessary step toward improvement.

These values are deeply interconnected and apply across all scales, from individual perspective to global constellation.

Positioning Between Utopia and Dystopia

1. Starting Point:
   • Realistic portrayal of current crises
   • Acknowledgment of “polycrisis” as reality
   • No downplaying of challenges
2. Approach to Action:
   • Humans as active shapers of future
   • Emphasis on collective solutions
   • Balance between realism and hope
3. Narrative Structure:
   • Personal stories within broader context
   • Focus on concrete actions and their impacts
   • Avoidance of simplistic solutions

Contemporary Relevance

Context

• Post-pandemic world
• Multiple ongoing conflicts
• Climate crisis
• Growing global inequality
• Need for new narratives beyond pessimism and naive optimism

Psychological Dimension

• Overcoming crisis paralysis
• Developing actionable perspectives
• Building collective resilience
• Transforming fear into agency

Literary Examples and Analysis

Hermann’s analysis reveals a diverse literary landscape of anti-dystopian works that embody the three core values while addressing Anthropocene catastrophes:

• “Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Near-future scenario through 2050
  • Realistic approaches to climate crisis
  • Integration of individual and institutional action
  • What I call ‘bureaucracypunk’
• “Walk Away” by Cory Doctorow⁶
  • Critique of capitalist elite rule
  • Alternative social models through technology
  • Focus on commons and community organization
• “Proxi” by Aiki Mira
  • Combines apocalyptic elements with utopian thinking
  • Emphasis on personal relationships during crisis
• “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler
  • Prophetic vision of societal breakdown (set in 2025, written in 1993)
  • Feminist perspective on community building during crisis
• “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel
  • Motto: “Survival is insufficient” - going beyond mere survival to meaning-making⁷
  • Shows civilization collapse but humanity persisting through art and connection⁸
  • Demonstrates maintaining culture and beauty amid catastrophe
• “The Carhullan Army” by Sarah Hall
  • Feminist resistance against total state control in climate-changed world
  • Alternative community structures in face of environmental collapse
    • Demonstrates that “women with their engagement and protests can have great impact against all resistance”⁹
• Works by Nnedi Okorafor (Africanfuturism)
  • African-centered perspective integrating technology with spirituality
  • Future-oriented and optimistic while culturally grounded
• Donna Haraway’s “Staying with the Trouble”
  • “Chthulucene” concept as alternative to Anthropocene narratives

Anti-Dystopian Action Framework

Hermann emphasizes that anti-dystopian thinking must translate into concrete action. The framework provides guidance for both individual and collective engagement:

Core Principles of Anti-Dystopian Action

Embracing Contradiction: Anti-dystopian action is inherently contradictory - “Diese Widersprüche auszuhalten ist anti-dystopisch” (enduring these contradictions is anti-dystopian).¹⁰ It requires both/and rather than either/or thinking.

Technology as Liberation: Unlike typical dystopian narratives that see technology as oppressive, anti-dystopia recognizes technology’s emancipatory potential when consciously applied for justice and community.

Continuous Process: There is no perfect end goal. Anti-dystopian action is “a contradictory, dynamic, and continuous effort toward improvement” without expecting utopian outcomes.

Thousands of Answers: As Kim Stanley Robinson notes: “there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems… Instead there are thousands of answers–at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.”¹¹

What Constitutes Anti-Dystopian Action

Action is anti-dystopian when it attempts to create positive change from a catastrophic status quo toward:

• More justice for all people across multiple levels
• Inclusive communities where people participate in decisions, collaborate, and value diversity
• Transformation acceptance - viewing change as necessary step rather than burden

Individual and Collective Integration

Anti-dystopian action bridges personal agency with community action. It’s neither about individual heroism alone nor systemic change in isolation, but their conscious integration in “getting into action” (“ins Handeln kommen”).

The Imperative to Act

Hermann argues that regardless of how overwhelming circumstances appear, “sich dagegen aufzulehnen lohnt sich immer” (rebelling against them is always worthwhile).¹² Working for justice, community, and change - through small daily actions or comprehensive social reforms - is always better than remaining inactive.

Contemporary Applications and Developments

In Futures Studies and Scenario Planning

Anti-dystopian frameworks are increasingly integrated into strategic foresight and scenario planning methodologies:

• Reframing Scenario Work: Moving beyond catastrophic-utopian binaries to explore resistance and renewal pathways
• Participatory Futures: Using anti-dystopian thinking in collective visioning and change management
• Critical Futures Studies: Connecting Hermann’s framework to efforts making dominant future perspectives visible and creating multiple possible futures
• Organizational Change: Applied in strategic foresight to build credible alternatives that integrate hope with realism

Connections to Related Movements

Solarpunk and Climate Fiction:

• Strong thematic overlap in constructive engagement with environmental crisis
• Shared emphasis on technological optimism tempered by environmental realism
• Community-based solutions and aesthetic imagination of better futures
• Literary cross-pollination with anti-dystopian works

Academic and Cultural Discourse (2024-2025):

• Intensified academic exploration of anti-dystopia as distinct genre
• Integration into literature studies and futures research curricula
• Events like the Anti-Dystopian Congress framing the approach as central to new methodologies
• Ring lectures and symposiums examining speculative fiction’s role in futures research

Practical Implementation

Narrative Development:

• Guidelines for creating stories that embody resistance, community, and constructive futures
• Frameworks for avoiding both utopian naivety and dystopian paralysis
• Integration of imperfection and contradiction as creative elements

Community Organizing:

• Anti-dystopian values (justice, community, change) as organizing principles
• Technology deployment for emancipatory rather than oppressive purposes
• Building inclusive coalitions that embrace diversity and contradiction

Critical Perspectives and Academic Debates

Hermann’s framework has generated both enthusiasm and critical engagement within academic and literary communities:

Supportive Responses

Genre Innovation: Scholars appreciate anti-dystopia as a productive response to dystopian oversaturation, offering new methodological approaches to futures thinking and scenario development.

Practical Relevance: The framework’s emphasis on action and contradiction resonates with practitioners seeking alternatives to both naive optimism and paralyzing pessimism.

Integration Potential: Anti-dystopia’s connection to solarpunk, climate fiction, and critical futures studies demonstrates its capacity to bridge academic and creative communities.

Critical Questions and Challenges

Conceptual Clarity: Some reviewers note ongoing challenges in clearly delineating anti-dystopian fiction from utopian or dystopian genres, particularly regarding the integration of imperfection and resistance.

Realism vs. Idealism: Critics question whether hopeful scenarios risk underestimating structural barriers or oversimplifying social complexities, potentially leading to their own form of naivety.

Narrative Structure: Practical issues persist around constructing narratives that are sufficiently complex and nuanced while avoiding formulaic optimism.

Implementation Gaps: Questions remain about how anti-dystopian theory translates into effective action frameworks beyond literary and academic contexts.

Ongoing Debates

Genre Boundaries: Discussion continues about anti-dystopia’s relationship to existing speculative fiction categories and whether it constitutes a distinct genre or methodological approach.

Cultural Specificity: How do anti-dystopian frameworks translate across different cultural contexts, particularly given Hermann’s grounding in German-language discourse?

Scalability: Can anti-dystopian thinking effectively address systemic challenges, or does it primarily offer individual and community-level responses?

Challenges and Limitations

Quotes & Key Insights

“Remember to imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the ones you cannot live within.” - Ruha Benjamin

This quote from the website for the Anti-Dystopian Congress captures the essence of anti-dystopia: the dual work of resistance and creation.

Future Development Directions

Theoretical Development:

• Deeper exploration of anti-dystopia’s relationship to critical posthumanism and multispecies thinking
• Integration with decolonial futures methodologies and non-Western approaches to time and change
• Connection to trauma-informed approaches to collective healing and transformation

Methodological Applications:

• Development of specific facilitation frameworks for anti-dystopian scenario work
• Integration into organizational change and strategic planning methodologies
• Creation of assessment tools for evaluating anti-dystopian elements in narratives and policies

Cultural and Literary Evolution:

• Expansion of anti-dystopian literature beyond current Western/Global North focus
• Exploration of anti-dystopian elements in traditional stories and indigenous futurisms
• Development of transmedia approaches to anti-dystopian storytelling

Notes for Further Research

• Explore connection to critical futures studies
• Investigate applications in organizational development
• Research impact on future narrative development
• Study relationship to social movements and collective action

Questions to Explore

1. How does anti-dystopia relate to critical futures studies?
2. What role can anti-dystopian thinking play in organizational transformation?
3. How can anti-dystopian narratives be effectively created and shared?
4. What are the limits and potential drawbacks of this approach?

References

Primary Sources

Hermann, Isabella. Zukunft ohne Angst – Wie Anti-Dystopien neue Perspektiven eröffnen. April 2025.

Academic and Cultural Sources

• Anti-Dystopian Congress. Goethe Institut. https://www.goethe.de/ins/sk/de/kul/sup/adc.html
• Hermann, Isabella. Interview on Kritische Zukunftsforschung Podcast (in German). https://pod.link/1736316792/episode/NWJmNmU3ODktNDA2OC00ZDAwLTk1NjgtMTY0ZjFiYmVlYTc4
• University of Oregon Ring Lectures 2024-2025. “Utopia, Dystopia, Heterotopia.” https://global.uoregon.edu/research/ring-lectures/2024-2025