What is Utopia? History, Theory, Tradition
Abstract
Abstract This chapter discusses the construction of different iterations of the Anglophone utopian tradition—divided into what are here named ‘fragmentary’, ‘recursive’, and ‘meta’ forms—from the late nineteenth century to the present. I argue that during the twentieth century the utopian tradition was profoundly reshaped by scholarly reason. I then sketch a ‘programmatic’ account of utopia. I suggest that something can be classified as utopian if, and only if, it invokes or prescribes the radical transformation or elimination of one or more pervasive practices, structures, or ordering principles, that shape collective life. In short, utopianism is the imagination of radical ontological difference.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Utopian
Dystopian
and Speculative Fiction
Legal and Social Philosophy
Philosophy
History
and Historiography
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Utopia
- Publisher
- Oxford University PressOxford
- Pages
- 5–27
- Publication date
- 2 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter