the poet or the artist to imitate the divine ideas themselvesnand to convey some sense of that reality that underliesneveryday experiences. In a crude sense, the artist “imitates,”nthat is to say represents, the divine act of creation, and hisngreatest temptation is to confuse his own role with that ofnthe Creator. When the writer plays God and constructs annalternate reality filled with exotic worlds, strange creatures,nand new laws, he cannot help trapping himself in the mirrornof his own self. This is the reason why all Utopias and mostnscience fiction are boring: the natural world — whetherncreated or evolved—is the result of an infinite mindnoperating through an infinite number of inextricably linkedninteractions, but Utopia is the product of a single finite mindnwith a very limited range of experience. Utopias are to thenworld what narcissism is to marriage.nBut Utopias are worse than sterile: they are terrifying in ancold sort of way. Cutting himself off from both Cod andnnature, modern man has repeatedly engaged in sciencenfiction experiments on human society. Imagine a worldnwithout property, without competition, without status, withoutnwar. “Imagine everybody sharing all the wealth.” Thenlonger I stare into the mirror of my finite self, the less able Inam to see anything that is not me. In constructing a world innmy image, I lose the capacity to understand any other world.ntransactionn14/CHRONICLESnMy choice for the most alarming piece of political sciencenfiction in recent years is George R.R. Martin’s Sandkings.nIn some other world lives a self-indulgent playboy whonmistreats the creatures he buys at a shop specializing innexotic pets from every galaxy. Finally he purchases a sort ofngiant ant farm with the injunction not to stir the creaturesninto violence or aggression. The playboy, however, cannotnresist the temptation to play God, and as the creaturesnconstruct their cities, he destroys some and spares others. Hensets one group against another and enjoys the spectacle ofnwar and devastation. When his victims work for days on angiant statue, he is surprised to discover that the face is hisnown.nUltimately, the insects metamorphose into powerfulnman-sized creatures with all the violence that their lord hasninstilled into them. Martin’s allegory can be taken as anreflection on certain kinds of religion made in man’s image,nbut it is also a comment on the whole Utopian project ofncreating new worlds. The rulers of Romania learned to theirncost what sort of people they had made in their own image,nand the planners and technocrats of America, so eager tonchange the condition of humanity, will with any luck have tonface the consequences of their own narcissism.n<:>n^ ^ Learned, thoughtful,nV V and superbly ^ ^nwrittenn-Robert NisbetnNATIONAL REVIEWn”In this probing and thoughful book, ThomasnFleming has begun to address the principalnchallenge to our society and polity.”n-Elizabeth Fox-GenovesenCHRONICLESn”A thoughtful conservative of the old school.n.. . Progressives and radicals could benefitnfrom grappling with Fleming’s intellectuallynstimulating presentation.”nTHE PROGRESSIVEnISBN: 0-88738-189-8 (cloth) 276 pp. $32.95nMajor credit cards accepted. Call (201) 932-2280nSend prepaid orders to:nP””^ transaction publishersnI r» I Department FLn^ M Rutgers-The State Universityntransaction New Brunswick, N.J. 08903nnn