446g_Envisioning Real Utopias repaginated (harry).indd
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چکیده
It may seem odd at the beginning of the twenty-fi rst century to have an extended discussion of ruptural transformations of capitalism. While revolutionary rhetoric has not completely disappeared, few critics of capitalism today imagine that a revolutionary overthrow of the state in the developed capitalist countries is a plausible strategy of emancipatory social transformation. Quite apart from any moral considerations about the immediate consequences of adopting such a strategy, or the desirability of the ultimate outcomes that would be generated by such an overthrow, the idea that the strategy itself could possibly succeed seems very far-fetched. In spite of this, I believe that there are four reasons why it is worthwhile discussing ruptural strategies. First, political activists, especially when they are young, are often attracted to the idea of a radical rupture with existing institutions. The existing structures of power, privilege, and inequality seem so malevolent and so damaging to aspirations for human fl ourishing that the idea of simply smashing them and creating something new and better can be appealing. This may be because of wishful thinking or romantic illusions, but nevertheless the idea of revolutionary rupture continues to excite the imagination of at least some activists. Second, a clear understanding of the logic and limits of a ruptural strategy of social transformation can help clarify alternative strategies. Theoretical and political debates on the left have been waged since the nineteenth century in terms of the “reform” versus “revolution” opposition, and in important ways the specifi city of the former comes from this contrast. Third, while I am quite skeptical of the possibility of system-wide ruptural strategies, more limited forms of rupture in particular institutional settings may be possible,
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446g_Envisioning Real Utopias repaginated (harry).indd
In this chapter and the next we will explore a range of real utopian proposals that try to satisfy three main criteria: First, the institutional designs involved are desirable in terms of radical democratic egalitarian emancipatory ideals. Second, they constitute viable alternatives to existing arrangements (i.e. they are consistent with what we know about how institutions work and, if implemen...
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In the absence of a comprehensive institutional design for a radical democratic egalitarian alternative to capitalism what we need to work out are principles of institutional innovation and change which will tell us whether we are at least moving in the right direction. In this chapter we will explore one way of doing this. I will begin by interrogating the meaning of the word “social” in socia...
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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...
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At the center of a socialist alternative to capitalism, in whatever way socialism is understood, is the problem of economic institutions, specifi cally the social organization of power over the allocation of resources and control of production and distribution. In statist conceptions of socialism such power and control operates primarily through the state, in the strongest version through the d...
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