Abstract
This essay, written in memory of Erik Olin Wright (1947–2019), considers Wright’s project of constructing and identifying real utopias. It confronts a tension in Wright’s oeuvre, the question of the knowledge by means of which reformers can identify the utopias that ground the really existing real utopias.
Highlights
Max Weber had claimed in Politics as a Vocation that “certainly all historical experience confirms the truth—that man would not have attained the possible unless time and again he had reached out for the impossible.”[5]. In 2010, Wright wrote the following in the overview of the Real Utopias Project: The Real Utopia Project embraces this tension between dreams and practice
It is founded on the belief that what is pragmatically possible is not fixed independently of our imaginations, but is itself shaped by our visions. . . . Nurturing clear-sighted understandings of what it would take to create social institutions free of oppression is part of creating a political will for radical social changes to reduce oppression. . . . What we need, are “real utopias”: utopian ideals that are grounded in the real potentials of humanity, utopian destinations that have accessible waystations, utopian designs of institutions that can inform our practical tasks of muddling through in a world of imperfect conditions for social change.[6]
The best illustration of this point is the Cartesian conception of the nature/society or nature/humanity dichotomy, in the terms of which humanity is totally independent of nature, just as the latter is totally independent of society
Summary
: The Real Utopia Project embraces this tension between dreams and practice. It is founded on the belief that what is pragmatically possible is not fixed independently of our imaginations, but is itself shaped by our visions. . . . Nurturing clear-sighted understandings of what it would take to create social institutions free of oppression is part of creating a political will for radical social changes to reduce oppression. . . . What we need, are “real utopias”: utopian ideals that are grounded in the real potentials of humanity, utopian destinations that have accessible waystations, utopian designs of institutions that can inform our practical tasks of muddling through in a world of imperfect conditions for social change.[6]. Such struggles and knowledges confirm that the three main modes of modern domination are capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
