Although the term "utopia" wasn't created until 1516 (Thomas More), utopian ideas are as old as man. Some consider the Garden of Eden to be the first written description of utopian paradise. Visions of utopia were the progenitors of dystopian concepts. One of the earliest recorded utopian proposals was Plato's Republic. Plato imagined an enlightened republic ruled by philosopher kings. Religions also contained a hint of utopia in their promises of bliss in the afterlife.

Perhaps the first piece of literature to blur the line between utopia and dystopia was Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, published in 1726. Gulliver visits four different societies which seem impressive at first but turn out to be seriously flawed. A common thread is those in power having little regard for the lesser citizens of the land: a blueprint for modern dystopia. In his famous work of satire, Swift shows what could happen if the visions of politicians, moralists, technocrats, and rationalists were taken to the extreme.

The Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) was a time of rapid growth, but it led to the imprisonment and dehumanization of laborers and to the mass accumulation of wealth in the hands of business tycoons. Though also labeled as science fiction, H.G. Wells's The Time Machine (1895) portrayed the upper and lower classes evolved into separate species, showing the class division at the center of many dystopian texts. Keeping with the theme, Jack London's The Iron Heel (1908), perhaps the earliest of modern dystopian fiction, depicts a tyrannical and authoritarian rule over destitute citizens.

This was an exciting time of advancement in science and medicine. Mass media was also experiencing a surge, and progressive reforms sprang up in response to inequities in society. Yevgeny Zamyatin published We (1921) in which a totalitarian state eliminates free will and individuality. All of this led up to the publication of one of the most famous dystopian books of all time: Brave New World. In Aldous Huxley's disturbing novel, people are genetically engineered, conditioned to perform social roles, and kept happy by drugs and propaganda. The "savages" represent real humanity as we know it.

World War II saw the rise of real-life political dystopias- fascism, communism, and totalitarianism- with citizens under the watchful eye of the state. Death camps ruthlessly and efficiently slaughtered any who didn't belong. George Orwell published Animal Farm in 1945 to mock the Soviet regime, and one of the most famous dystopian novels of all time- 1984- was released in 1949. This was Orwell's critique of totalitarianism, media, and language. In it, the government uses mass surveillance and propaganda to repress citizens and persecute individuality.

This was the era of captivation with atomic energy, artificial intelligence, and space travel. Popular films and comic books captured society's worries about nuclear war and post-apocalyptic consequences in stories about vengeful robots, space colonies, the depletion of earth's resources, overpopulation and crime, and the broadcasting of deadly mass entertainment. The 1964 black comedy film Dr. Strangelove was a satire of our Cold War fears, and comics like Watchmen and V for Vendetta addressed the threat of conflict with the Soviet Union and the aftermath of nuclear war.

More recent dystopian literature reflects society's growing concerns over climate change, financial crises, government power, political polarization, global epidemics, corporate takeover, mental health, inequality, and terrorism. Notable dystopian novels from the 1990s and early 2000s include:

• Random Acts of Senseless Violence- Jack Womack

• Super Sad True Love Story- Gary Shteyngart

• A Boy and His Dog- Harlan Ellison

• Jennifer Government- Max Berry

• City of Bohane- Kevin Barry

• Blindness- Jose Saramago

• The Children of Men- P.D. James

• Parable of the Sower- Octavia E. Butler