Looking Backward · Chapter
XIX explained
Julian West learns about the 20th century's approach to crime, law, and government.
What happens
Julian West learns about the 20th century's approach to crime, law, and government. Dr. Leete explains that crime is now viewed as atavism—a recurrence of ancestral traits—and is treated medically rather than punitively. He describes how the abolition of private property and economic inequality eliminated most motives for crime, leaving only rare cases of motiveless offenses. The chapter also covers the simplified judicial system, the absence of lawyers and legislatures, and the obsolescence of state governments, with the nation now organized as a unified industrial unit.
Themes in this chapter
Moral and Social Progress
Crime is redefined as atavism and treated compassionately, reflecting a more humane and evolved moral order.
Critique of Capitalism and Consumerism
The root of crime is traced to economic inequality and private property, which have been abolished.
Economic System and Cooperation
The nation's unified industrial organization eliminates the need for state governments and most legislation.
Characters to notice
- Julian West
The narrator who questions Dr. Leete about crime and government in the new society.
- Dr. Leete
Explains the modern view of crime as atavism, the simplified legal system, and the absence of state governments.
- Edith Leete
Gently corrects Julian's sense of generational pride, calling the 20th century 'his generation.'
- Mrs. Leete
Present at the breakfast table, showing embarrassment at Julian's sensitivity about his era.
Key passages
“We have no jails nowadays. All cases of atavism are treated in the hospitals.”
There are no prisons; individuals who commit crimes are treated medically as cases of atavism.
Dr. Leete explains the modern approach to crime.
“Fully ninety-nine hundredths of the laws of that time concerned the definition and protection of private property and the relations of buyers and sellers.”
Almost all laws in the 19th century dealt with private property and commerce.
Dr. Leete contrasts the legal focus of the past with the simplicity of the present.
“We have no legislation, that is, next to none.”
There is almost no need for new laws in the current society.
Dr. Leete describes the minimal legislative activity in the 20th century.