Five utopian fantasies: * The Aerial Valley (1810) proves that a utopian society can only maintain stability if it remains technologically limited and isolated from outside influences; it is a sensitive challenge to the philosophy of progress as an instrument of perfectibility. * The Year 2800 (1829) bases its anticipations of future improvement on bold social reforms. * Paris in Dreams (1863) echoes the then-ongoing endeavors of Baron Haussmann, who was busy remodeling the city in accordance with his own utopian design. * Victor Hugo's The Future was the first chapter of the great author's...