Bibliographic Information

Utopianism

Krishan Kumar

(Concepts in the social sciences)

Open University Press, 1991

  • : pbk

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Note

Includes bibliography and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780335153619

Description

Utopia has become a vague term, synonymous almost with the Good Society or the Good Time. It is applied to the dreams and visions of all peoples and all times: from backward-looking myths of the Golden Age to the future prospect of a glorious Millennium, from Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. This book argues utopia should be seen as a much more specific tradition of social and political thought. It has cultural and historical boundaries. A Western concept, it arose in the West as a specific and highly original way of dealing with the novel problems of modern Western society. Its themes are the characteristic ones of modern Western social thought: power, inequality, democracy, science. But, as a form of imaginative fiction, its treatment of these themes is distinctive and compelling. Far from being merely fantasy or wish-fulfilment, utopia is a critical rehearsal of the dilemmas of modern society and, at the same time, a prescriptive account of the best way of resolving them. From its first appearance in the "Utopia" of Thomas More in 1516, utopia has undergone numerous changes of focus and concern. But its form has remained remarkably resilient. As we approach the end of the second christian millennium, there are clear signs - for example the emergency of feminist and ecological utopias - that utopia has by no means exhausted is power either as a tool of critical analysis or as a constructive vision of future possibilities.

Table of Contents

The elements of Utopia the boundaries of Utopia the history of Utopia the practice of Utopia Utopia on the map of the world
Volume

ISBN 9780335153626

Description

Utopia has become a vague term, synonymous almost with the Good Society or the Good Time. It is applied to the dreams and visions of all peoples and all times: from backward-looking myths of the Golden Age to the future prospect of a glorious Millennium, from Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. This book argues utopia should be seen as a much more specific tradition of social and political thought. It has cultural and historical boundaries. A Western concept, it arose in the West as a specific and highly original way of dealing with the novel problems of modern Western society. Its themes are the characteristic ones of modern Western social thought: power, inequality, democracy, science. But, as a form of imaginative fiction, its treatment of these themes is distinctive and compelling. Far from being merely fantasy or wish-fulfilment, utopia is a critical rehearsal of the dilemmas of modern society and, at the same time, a prescriptive account of the best way of resolving them. From its first appearance in the "Utopia" of Thomas More in 1516, utopia has undergone numerous changes of focus and concern. But its form has remained remarkably resilient. As we approach the end of the second christian millennium, there are clear signs - for example the emergency of feminist and ecological utopias - that utopia has by no means exhausted is power either as a tool of critical analysis or as a constructive vision of future possibilities.

Table of Contents

  • The elements of Utopia
  • the boundaries of Utopia
  • the history of Utopia
  • the practice of Utopia
  • Utopia on the map of the world.

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Details

  • NCID
    BA12163039
  • ISBN
    • 0335153615
    • 0335153623
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Milton Keynes
  • Pages/Volumes
    viii, 136 p.
  • Size
    22 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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