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The writer Edward Bellamy, b. Chicopee Falls, Mass., Mar. 26, 1850, d. May 22, 1898, is best known for his novel Looking Backward, 2000-1887 (1888), a critique of American capitalism. Bellamy depicts the utopian society of the year 2000, what he called a "cooperative commonwealth" in which competitive capitalism is dead. To a man miraculously transported into the future, Bellamy believed, the injustices of the 19th century would be apparent. The book inspired interest in socialism and led to the formation of Nationalist clubs, based on Bellamy's theories, that advocated the nationalization of public services.

Bibliography: Bowman, Sylvia E., Edward Bellamy (1986) and The Year 2000: Edward Bellamy (1958; repr. 1978); Morgan, Arthur E., Edward Bellamy (1944; repr. 1974); Thomas, John L., "Introduction," in Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward (1967).