Visions of the Future: Malthusian Thought Experiments in Russian Literature (1840–1960) by Natasha Grigorian (review)

Reviewed by: Visions of the Future: Malthusian Thought Experiments in Russian Literature (1840–1960) by Natasha Grigorian Eliane Fitzé Visions of the Future: Malthusian Thought Experiments in Russian Literature (1840–1960). By Natasha Grigorian. (Studies in Comparative Literature and Intellectual History) Brighton, MA: Academic Studies Press. 2023. viii+ 125 pp. 129. ISBN 979–8–88719–055–6. The theories on the relationship between population growth and resources proposed by Thomas Malthus in 1798 have influenced European social sciences, philosophy, and literature ever since. Natasha Grigorian's new book examines how Russian writers have developed his ideas in the form of what she calls 'counter-factual thought experiments': the narrative enactment of Malthusian theory based on an unreal assumption, set (for example) in a fictional future society or on a different planet. She examines six case studies of literary works by authors who more or less directly referred to Malthus's seminal Essay on the Principle of Population, namely Vladimir Odoevskii, Nikolay Chernyshevskii, Alexander Bogdanov, Aleksei Tolstoy, Alexander Chaianov, and Nina Berberova. Their texts, published between 1840 and 1960, all belong to the canon of Russian-language utopian/dystopian thought while realizing Malthus's ideas in a specific imaginary setting. Grigorian analyses these fictional scenarios as invitations to disprove, or at least reevaluate, the English philosopher. She argues that her chosen authors constructed their counterfactual thought experiments in order to expose Malthusian theory as limited, wrong, or plain ridiculous. Grigorian's approach draws upon Ernst Mach's definition of the thought experiment, while employing techniques from classical literary analysis, including focus on narrative structure, tropes and other stylistic figures, and reductio ad absurdum. Finally, she ventures into reader-response theory by trying to tease out how these stories might have physically affected or stimulated readers. Her analysis is thus both specific and wide-ranging, affording new insights into the inner workings of these texts as imaginative literature, and also into the interplay between utopian writing and philosophical thought. For me, the most enriching aspect of Visions of the Future was Grigorian's close attention to those narrative techniques which brand the author's imaginary alternative world as positive or negative: these can transform an awe-inspiring utopia suddenly and unexpectedly into a very scary dystopia indeed. This book is a solid contribution to the study of utopian thought in Russian culture. Grigorian proposes a set of analytical tools that, though not intrinsically new, in combination can enhance existing methodologies for the study of utopian literature. Her book sheds light on the reception of Malthus throughout the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, which was often more critical than his reception within 'Western' European thought. She explains some reasons for this difference, primarily the fact that Russia never lacked for space and natural resources, and hence proved less sympathetic to the shortages predicted by Malthus. Moreover, Russian nineteenth-century philosophy traditionally emphasized the inherent sense of 'togetherness' supposedly present among the Russian people (the concept of the obshchina, or community, quite starkly contradicting how Malthus described the functioning of human society). I would have liked more justification End Page 427 of why Grigorian chose these particular six authors, whose experience spans the post-Romantic era through realism into modernity and even the period of post-modernity, extending from the Russian Empire until after Stalin's death. It would be interesting to examine more closely how these authors suited their personal refractions of Malthus's ideas to their respective social and cultural contexts; more on the intended and actual readership of these 'counterfactual narratives' would have added depth to her reader-response analysis. Grigorian proposes the thought experiment as a new methodological approach for future researchers of utopia and how philosophical thought has shaped (Russian-language) literature. Her book can thus be seen as a thought experiment itself—and certainly a very interesting and thought-provoking one. Eliane Fitzé University of Fribourg (Switzerland) Copyright © 2024 The Modern Humanities Research Association