446g_Envisioning Real Utopias repaginated (harry).indd

Envisioning real utopias is a central component of a broader intellectual enterprise that can be called emancipatory social science. Emancipatory social science seeks to generate scientifi c knowledge relevant to the collective project of challenging various forms of human oppression. To call this a form of social science, rather than simply social criticism or social philosophy, recognizes the importance for this task of systematic scientifi c knowledge about how the world works. The word emancipatory identifi es a central moral purpose in the production of knowledge—the elimination of oppression and the creation of the conditions for human fl ourishing.1 And the word social implies the belief that human emancipation depends upon the transformation of the social world, not just the inner life of persons. To fulfi ll this mission, any emancipatory social science faces three basic tasks: elaborating a systematic diagnosis and critique of the world as it exists; envisioning viable alternatives; and understanding the obstacles, possibilities, and dilemmas of transformation. In different times and places one or another of these may be more pressing than others, but all are necessary for a comprehensive emancipatory theory.