Dystopian Journal #3: WE, Topic C

The author’s primary concern with society was the issue involving lack of civil liberty. Zamyatin was concerned about a balance scale that is created naturally in modern day societies, this balance scale is between civil liberties and overall security. In the novel, Zamyatin offers this dystopian society which is “Over secure” as a result from the 200 years war. It is over secure to the point that civil liberties (such as privacy) are given up. Through the novel, Zamyatin hopes to convey the message that civil liberty and overall security must be balanced. This vision is powerful and believable when considering the fact that all societies give up many civil liberties during time periods of mass paranoia or post-war, which is only natural since people become frightened of radical behaviors. In turn, civil liberties must be given up to keep the people feel secure. This principle can be applied to periods in history such as the cold war. Fear of communism lead the American people to denounce all communists or disallow their right to free speech. Zamyatin is trying to illuminate what could happen if fear got to a high point and restricted civil liberties on an extreme level. Yevgney Zamyatin hopes that balance is something that may be achieved not only in war time, but in peace time so that today’s societies never reach the point of abandoning civil liberties or leaving societies unsecure.

Word count: 241 words