What is the theme for looking backwards?

In Looking Backwards by Edward Bellamy (1888) the main theme is that if rationality is used to used to create a society that reflects that goodness and generosity, then society will look like the one Bellamy idealized. The idea that the new society is "the logical outcome of the operation of human nature under rational conditions" reoccurs in various forms throughout the book.

Another theme is the idea of solidarity---people acting in agreement for their mutual benefit instead of competing against each other as individuals-is the basic assumption upon which Bellamy builds his utopia. For Bellamy, society should be organized around people's innate need to live in a good community where everyone has an equal share of responsibility and benefit, and where people are cared for because they are people, not because they perform some service.