Utopianism

A utopia is literally an ideal or perfect society. The term was first used in Utopia ([1516] 1989) by Thomas More. Utopianism is a style of social theorising that develops a critique of the existing order by constructing a model of an ideal or perfect alternative. However, utopianism is not a political philosophy nor an ideological tradition. Substantive utopias differ from one another, and utopian thinkers have not advanced a common conception of the good life. Nevertheless, most utopias are characterized by the abolition of want, the absence of conflict, and the avoidance of violence and oppression. Socialism in general, and anarchism and Marxism in particular, have a marked disposition towards utopianism, reflecting their belief in the human potential for sociable, cooperative and gregarious behaviour. Socialist utopias, as a result, are strongly egalitarian and typically characterized by collective property ownership and a reduction in, or eradication of, political authority. Feminism and ecologism have also spawned utopian theories. Liberalism’s capacity to generate utopian thought is restricted by its stress upon human self-interestedness and competition; however, an extreme belief in free-market capitalism can be viewed as a form of market utopianism. Other utopias have been based upon faith in the benign influence of government and political authority. Plato’s Republic (1955), the earliest example of political utopianism, advocated enlightened despotism, while More’s society was hierarchical, authoritarian and patriarchal, albeit within a context of economic equality.

Criticisms of utopian thought fall into two categories. The first (in line with the pejorative, everyday use of the term utopian) suggests that utopianism is deluded or fanciful thinking, a belief in an unrealistic and unachievable goal. Marx, for instance, denounced ‘utopian socialism’ on the grounds that it advances a moral vision that is in no way grounded in historical and social realities. By contrast, ‘scientific socialism’ sought to explain how and why a socialist society would come into being (Marxism’s utopian character is nevertheless evident in the nature of its ultimate goal: the construction of a classless, communist society). The second category of criticisms holds that utopianism is implicitly totalitarian, in that it promotes a single set of indisputable values and so is intolerant of free debate and diversity. The strength of utopianism is that it enables political theory to think beyond the present and to challenge the ‘boundaries of the possible’. The establishment of ‘concrete’ utopias is a way of uncovering the potential for growth and development within existing circumstances. Without a vision of what could be, political theory may simply be overwhelmed by what is, and thereby lose its critical edge.

Robert Owen (1771–1858) A Welsh socialist, industrialist and pioneer of the cooperative movement, Owen’s thought was based upon the belief that human character is formed by the social environment, and he therefore asserted that progress requires the construction of a ‘rational system of society’. He particularly opposed organized religion, the conventional institution of marriage and private property. Owen advocated the construction of small-scale cooperative communities in which property would be communally owned and essential goods freely distributed. Owen’s principal work is A New View of Society ([1816] 1972).

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–65) A French anarchist, Proudhon attacked both traditional property rights and communism, arguing instead for mutualism, a cooperative productive system geared towards need rather than profit and organized within self-governing communities. His famous dictum, ‘property is theft’, rejected the accumulation of wealth but allowed for small-scale property ownership in the form of ‘possessions’, a vital source of independence and initiative. Proudhon’s major works include What Is Property? (1840), Philosophy of Poverty (an attack on Marx) (1846), The Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century (1851) and The Federal Principle (1863).

Peter Kropotkin : Kropotkin’s work was imbued with a scientific spirit and was based upon a theory of evolution that provided an alternative to Darwin’s. By seeing ‘mutual aid’ as the principal means of human and animal development, he claimed to provide an empirical basis for both anarchism and communism. He looked to the construction of a society consisting of a collection of largely self-managing communes within which life would be regulated by ‘liberty and fraternal care’.

Paul Goodman (1911–72) A US writer and social critic, Goodman’s anarchist and anti-authoritarian ideas had a considerable impact upon the New Left of the 1960s. His enduring concern with personal growth and human well-being, reflected, in part, in his interest in Gestalt therapy, led him to support a communitarian brand of anarchism, progressive education, pacificism, an ethic of sexual liberation, and the reconstruction of communities to facilitate local autonomy and face-to-face interaction. Goodman’s major works include Growing Up Absurd (1960), Communitas (1960) and Utopian Essays and Practical Proposals (1962).