The primal principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual.

Edward Bellamy (March 26 1850 – May 22 1898) was an American author and socialist most famous for his utopian novel Looking Backward a Rip Van Winkle-like tale set in the distant future of the year 2000. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of over 160 "Nationalist Clubs" dedicated to the propagation of Bellamy's political ideas and working to make them a practical reality.