In Defense of Utopia
Abstract
In this essay I argue that while utopias can be dangerous when distorted by ideology and religion, captured to serve the economic and political ends of the rich and powerful, or warped so that the better life is only available to a select few, they are essential because the desire/hope for a better life for everyone is the only way to overcome such distortion/capture/warping. In conclusion, I opt for the “relative utopia” of Albert Camus, the “realistic utopia” of John Rawls, or what, more recently Erik Olin Wright called “Real Utopias” and Rutger Bregman has called “Utopias for Realists.”
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