In the USA, you suffer from the same polarised two party system that so restricts the UK. Two Tribes that seem locked in eternal combat, both impassioned to have us believe that their ideology is the right one, but both in cahoots to ensure that no newbies break in to end their stifling embrace. It has been so for many, many years, and the great literary works of Orwell, Bradbury and their kind was a direct consequence of these dogmas and the bleakness of what they offer.
We all need a new way. We all need A Brave New World! ( see what I did there?)

I think authors have often had to tell the truth by means of disguise. These 'science fiction' authors who wrote about futuristic dystopia had really seen such things happening in their lives, but couldn't come forth and actually give real names and real events..it would've put them and their livelyhoods in jeopardy.
Let's use Eugenics as an example, as it's often a theme in sci-fi. This was really happening in the 30's and 40's and was sparked by a Scottish/American named Madison Grant. He wrote a book that was the blueprint behind Hitler and WWII. Well even though such topics as sterilization, ethnic cleansing and creating a super-human race were very real then, they had to be fictionalized to reach their audience. Just like Big Brother and surveillance of ordinary citizens was just another name for Communism, but you can't say it out loud..so you disguise it.