Social science fiction

Subgenre of science fiction which explores society and human interactions A depiction of a futuristic Paris street scene, where flying crafts soar above crowds. Social science fiction or sociological science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology or space opera and more with speculation about society. Speculation about human behavior and interactions through an anthropological lens is also a key feature of many works. Exploration of fictional societies is a significant aspect of social science fiction, allowing it to make predictions (The Time Machine, 1895; The Final Circle of Paradise, 1965), offer precautionary warnings (Brave New World, 1932; Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949; Childhood's End, Fahrenheit 451, 1953), to criticize the contemporary world (Gulliver's Travels, 1726; the works of Alexander Gromov, 1995–present), to present solutions to social ills (Walden Two, Freedom™), to portray alternative societies (World of the Noon), to share utopias (William Morris's News from Nowhere), and to examine the implications of ethical principles, as for example in the works of Sergei Lukyanenko. More