There is a long, fine, tradition of radicals writing books about visitors to, or from, utopian societies to capitalist ones. William Morris' splendid fantasy News from Nowhere is perhaps the best of these, though Iain M. Bank's Player of Games ranks high for me. Ken Macleod's The Cassini Division is clearly inspired by these, and others. His chapter titles are all examples of the genre, though many are realtively obscure.
But in Macleod's version, our protaganists come from an advanced future Communist society that has emerged from a complete economic and technological collapse. This is the sort of utopia that I've discussed in many Socialist Worker meetings. Or perhaps more often in pubs and cafe's after those meetings. Here people organise to help and satsify needs, rather than labouring for someone else's accumulation. There's a wonderful moment when Ellen May Ngewthu visits an airport in a capitalist society, and contrasts the chaos, advertising and shops with the relaxed environment of her normal travel hubs, were people help with luggage, look after each others kids and relax.
There are plenty of moments like this as Ellen builds a team to confront an existential threat to Earth, and this involves a travel to that alternative world. For the purposes of this review, the nature of that threat doesn't particularly matter - though things would likely have been much clearer if I'd read books one and two first. The point is that Macleod contrasts the chaos (and greed) of a world that puts profit before people, with the choices made by a world where decision making is made in the interests of all. Even if those decisions can lead the death and destruction.
For socialist activists reading The Cassini Division there is fun to be had at spotting in-jokes and self-referential material. But I was charmed by how Macleod demonstrated democracy in practice, as well as how life might work in an affluent society, albeit one constrainted by ecological and physical realities. Decisions here are made that give a framework to those implementing them. And those who have ideas are expected to try and lead on then. No elected leaders sending other people's children off to fight here.
This doesn't feel like the preaching that characterises some of the 19th century utopian works. But there is a certain smugness to it all - not unlike the smugness our socialist heroes feel when they arrive in a world where people haven't overthrown class society. All that said this isn't just a political novel. It's a great bit of Space Opera, with starships firing heavy weapons, adventure and some classic jokes. I really enjoyed it. But I am, perhaps, it's target audience.
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