Abstract

This work explores what utopian writers have said about economic inequality. It is not an economic study but an exploration in social philosophy in its utopian expressions. Its transdisciplinary focus is utopian social theory as expressed in literary utopias. While our current age struggles with the prospect of a handful of people owning half the world’s wealth, it may be useful to reflect on the nature of this problem (if it is a problem) in its broadest contours including utopian precedents warning us of its coming and directing us to possible solutions. As utopian writers envision a future where the extremes of both poverty and wealth have been tamed or at least tempered, it is instructive to explore the instruments they employ; by what measures have they defeated poverty or diminished the threats boundless fortunes pose, thereby revitalizing society?