Call for a New Social Theory: Re-Igniting Radical Imagination

Abstract

Abstract Purpose To encourage radical social theory in a time dominated by a sense of cultural despair and the futility of social transformation to reimagine the possibilities for innovation inherent in such end times. Such a time of ending can also by its nature serve to inspire new beginnings. Methodology/approach To call social theorists as part of their vocation to look for signs of and cultivate such new beginnings. Findings Such an inquiry must pry and probe beneath the surface of cultural expression and political movements in a time of cultural repression to deeper aspirations for change and renewal, in particular in this case, to the culture of fantasy in literature, cinema and other complex and often veiled forms of expression. Practical implications To offer ways for theorists and teachers to begin exploring and encouraging wherever possible the release of the transformative imagination. The social implications involve the reanimation and rekindling of a radical social imagination: by generating dialogue and new ways of thinking it serves as one of the precursors of genuine social movements for change and specifically today for conceptualizing a post-industrial, post-liberal society. Originality/value As discussed directly, this essay is original not in asserting the profound role of the political, moral, and utopian imagination in spurring movements for change, but in characterizing this period – one of narrow factualism/literalism, instrumentalism, and pragmatism – as one ripe for such a renewal of the imaginative project.