Social science fiction is a subgenre of science
fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft
science fiction, concerned less with technology/space
opera and more with speculation about society.
In other words, it "absorbs and discusses
anthropology" and speculates about human behavior
and interactions.Exploration of fictional
societies is a significant aspect of science
fiction, allowing it to perform predictive
(The Time Machine (1895); The Final Circle
of Paradise, 1965) and precautionary (Brave
New World, 1932; Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949;
Childhood's End, Fahrenheit 451, 1953) functions,
to criticize the contemporary world (Gulliver's
Travels, 1726; the works of Alexander Gromov,
1995 - Present) and to present solutions (Walden
Two, Freedom™), to portray alternative societies
(World of the Noon) and to examine the implications
of ethical principles, as for example in the
works of Sergei Lukyanenko.
== In English ==
Social fiction is a broad term to describe
any work of speculative fiction that features
social commentary (as opposed to, say, hypothetical
technology) in the foreground. Social science
fiction is a subgenre thereof, where social
commentary (cultural or political) takes place
in a sci-fi universe. Utopian and dystopian
fiction is a classic, polarized genre of social
science fiction, although most works of science
fiction can be interpreted as having social
commentary of some kind or other as an important
feature. It is not uncommon, therefore, for
a sci-fi work to be labeled as social sci-fi
as well as numerous other categories.
Thomas More's book Utopia (1516) represents
an early example of the genre. Another early
classic writer, Jonathan Swift, penned critical
views on current society—his most famous
work, Gulliver's Travels (1726), is an example
of a novel that is partially social science
fiction (with such classic sci-fi elements
as pioneering in strange new worlds and experimenting
with variations of the human anatomy) and
partially high fantasy (e.g., fantastical
races that satirize various sectors of society).
One of the writers who used science fiction
to explore the sociology of near-future topics
was H. G. Wells, with his classic The Time
Machine (1895) revealing the human race diverging
into separate branches of Elois and Morlocks
as a consequence of class inequality: a happy
pastoral society of Elois preyed upon by the
Morlocks but yet needing them to keep their
world functioning—a thinly veiled criticism
of capitalist society, where the exploiter
class, or the bourgeoisie, is symbolized by
the useless, frivolous Elois, and the exploited
working class, or the proletariat, is represented
by the subterranean-dwelling, malnourished
Morlocks. Wells' The Sleeper Awakes (1899,
1910) predicted the spirit of the 20th century:
technically advanced, undemocratic and bloody.
Next to prognoses of the future of society
if current social problems persisted, as well
as depictions of alien societies that are
exaggerated versions of ours (exemplified
by The War of the Worlds of 1897), Wells also
heavily criticized the then-popular concept
of vivisection, experimental "psychiatry"
and research that was done for the purpose
of restructuring the human mind and memory
(clearly emphasized in The Island of Doctor
Moreau, 1896).
Other early examples of influential novels
include Vril, the Power of the Coming Race
(1871) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Erewhon (1872)
by Samuel Butler, Looking Backward: 2000-1887
(1888) by Edward Bellamy and News from Nowhere
(1890) by William Morris
In the U.S. the new trend of science fiction
away from gadgets and space opera and toward
speculation about the human condition was
championed in pulp magazines of the 1940s
by authors such as Robert A. Heinlein and
by Isaac Asimov, who coined the term "social
science fiction" to describe his own work.
The term is not often used today except in
the context of referring specifically to the
changes that took place in the 1940s, but
the subgenre it defines is still a mainstay
of science fiction.
Utopian fiction eventually gave birth to a
negative and often more cynical genre, known
as dystopian: Aldous Huxley's "negative utopia"
Brave New World (1932) and, Animal Farm (1945)
and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George
Orwell. "The thought-destroying force" of
McCarthyism influenced Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit
451 (1953). Examples of young adult dystopian
fiction include The Hunger Games (2008) by
Suzanne Collins, The House of the Scorpion
(2002) by Nancy Farmer, Divergent (2011) by
Veronica Roth, The Maze Runner (2009) by James
Dashner, and Delirium (2011) by Lauren Oliver.
The Chrysalids (1955) by John Wyndham explored
the society of several telepathic children
in a world hostile to such differences. Robert
Sheckley studied polar civilizations of criminal
and stability in his 1960 novel The Status
Civilization.
The modern era of social science fiction began
with the 1960s, when authors such as Harlan
Ellison, Brian Aldiss, William Gibson and
Frank Herbert wrote novels and stories that
reflected real-world political developments
and ecological issues, but also experimented
in creating hypothetical societies of the
future or of parallel populated planets. Ellison's
main theme was the protest against increasing
militarism. Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse-Five
(1969), which used the science-fiction storytelling
device of time-travel to explore anti-war,
moral, and sociological themes. Frederik Pohl's
series Gateway (1977–2004) combined social
science fiction with hard science-fiction.
Modern exponents of social science fiction
in the Campbellian/Heinlein tradition include
L. Neil Smith who wrote both The Probability
Broach (1981) and Pallas, which dealt with
alternative "sideways in time" futures and
what a libertarian society would look like.
He is considered the heir to Robert A. Heinlein's
individualism and libertarianism in science
fiction.Kim Stanley Robinson explored different
models of the future in his Three Californias
Trilogy (1984, 1988, 1990).
The Saga of Recluce (1991–present), by L.
E. Modesitt, Jr. represents a fusion of science
fiction and fantasy that can be described
as social science fiction. The 13 books of
the series describe the changing relationships
between two technologically advanced cultures
and the cultures of a primitive world to which
each is involuntarily transported. Themes
of gender stereotyping, sexism, ethics, economics,
environmentalism and politics are explored
in the course of the series, which examines
the world through the eyes of all its protagonists.
Doris Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize for
literature. Although mostly known for her
mainstream works, she wrote numerous notable
works of social science fiction, including
Memoirs of a Survivor (1974), Briefing for
a Descent into Hell (1971), the Canopus in
Argos series (1974–1983), and The Cleft
(2007).
== Examples from the 1940s ==
Isaac Asimov, Nightfall, 1941
Isaac Asimov, The Foundation Series, 1942–
Karin Boye, Kallocain, 1940
Robert A. Heinlein, If This Goes On—, 1940
Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon, 1942
George R. Stewart, Earth Abides, 1949
George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949
== See also ==
Anthropological science fiction
Cyberpunk
Design fiction
Fable
Libertarian science fiction
Political ideas in science fiction
