In a later interview, when asked if he believes that teaching Fahrenheit 451 in schools will prevent his totalitarian vision of the future, Bradbury replied in the negative.

The projects that have worked in New York," Mr. Rose said, "operate within the context of the market instead of trying to overcome it with some totalitarian vision.

China is groping for a smoother way to effective development after two generations of bloody turmoil guided by a totalitarian vision.

And just like the post-nuclear totalitarian vision of The Handmaid's Tale, this story is set in a society readers will recognise as only a few steps ahead of our own.

It has exhibited postmodern, antinomian tendencies on the one hand, and a more hard-line, totalitarian vision on the other.

But it's an idealistic, totalitarian vision that tramples on everything a free society stands for.