Looking at the Chemocratic World: A Dystopian Reading of “The Futurological Congress” by Stanislaw Lem

Abstract

The concept of dystopia or anti-utopia goes beyond what is imagined as an ideal world; it is used to describe works that include the chaos, political problems, despair, and impossibility that humanity is dragged into. Stanislaw Lem, who was influenced by the changing life patterns after the Ukrainian invasion and the Nazi occupation, discussed the concept of dystopia together with the drug theme in his work The Futurological Congress (1971). As humanity's expectations from technology increase, the contents of dystopian works have also become richer. As a result, a universe focused entirely on living with drugs was depicted in his work. Greed and careless consumption of resources have led to the disruption of world order and population explosion. This article aims to examine the chemocratic universe of Lem's work The Futurological Congress, by focusing on the effect of drug-centered government on the characters, in line with the characteristics of dystopian works. In this research, the hallucinatory journeys of the character named Ijon Tichy and the problems he encounters are examined. Tichy, who hallucinates due to the drugs, and those in the sewer where he hides find themselves in a grotesque adventure. By examining the characteristics of dystopian works, the effects of drugs and benignimizers reaching the social lives of the characters are examined. The article focuses on examining the efforts to adapt to the so-called utopian but dystopian life depicted in the novel, which has many drug problems.