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A review by sett
Envisioning Real Utopias by Erik Olin Wright
4.0
In this book, acclaimed sociologist Erik O. Wright has mapped out a framework for thinking about alternative possible societies and social mechanisms. Societies that are more "just and humane" than the world in which live today. He does so in such a sharp, concise fashion, it could almost be described as scientific precision[1].
Despite coming from a strong Marxist tradition (but ultimately deeming Marxist alternatives "unsatisfactory"), Wright has written the book with a "broad, relatively popular audience in mind". You don't have to be familiar with academic writing, sociology or have had any previous exposure to so-called leftist literature at all to appreciate this book.
Wright acknowledges that we now live in a world where radical visions are "often mocked rather than taken seriously". He says that the belief in the possibility of radical alternatives is what shaped the gains we have in contemporary society. To expand on that point he begins the book by offering examples of "Real Utopias", microcosms within society that are radical alternative institutions: Wikipedia, Participatory Budgeting, Mondragon and Unconditional Basic Income.
The rest book itself is divided into three parts:
Part I presents a basic diagnosis and critique of the current system, capitalism. I felt like simply reading Part I was rewarding enough as Wright has probably written the most powerful concise critiques of capitalism - 11 of them.
Part II discusses the problems of proposed alternatives: statist-socialism, associational democracy, social capitalism, participatory socialism, and so forth. For someone with zero background on sociology, this was absolutely fascinating and empowering to have the tools to think about this.
Finally Part III deals with the issue of transformation, and covers the different strategies that can be employed to bring about these utopian alternatives. In this part he explores different models of transformation from revolutionary communist ("ruptural") to anarchists' ("interstitial") and social democratic ("symbiotic").
I view the book itself as a comprehensive set of tools with which we can understand social conditions and phenomena in the present and by understanding, consciously choose strategies for the future.
[1] "Emancipatory social science, in its broadest terms, seeks to generate knowledge relevant to the collective project of challenging human oppression and creating the conditions in which people can live flourishing lives." (http://p2pfoundation.net/Emancipatory_Social_Science)
Despite coming from a strong Marxist tradition (but ultimately deeming Marxist alternatives "unsatisfactory"), Wright has written the book with a "broad, relatively popular audience in mind". You don't have to be familiar with academic writing, sociology or have had any previous exposure to so-called leftist literature at all to appreciate this book.
Wright acknowledges that we now live in a world where radical visions are "often mocked rather than taken seriously". He says that the belief in the possibility of radical alternatives is what shaped the gains we have in contemporary society. To expand on that point he begins the book by offering examples of "Real Utopias", microcosms within society that are radical alternative institutions: Wikipedia, Participatory Budgeting, Mondragon and Unconditional Basic Income.
The rest book itself is divided into three parts:
Part I presents a basic diagnosis and critique of the current system, capitalism. I felt like simply reading Part I was rewarding enough as Wright has probably written the most powerful concise critiques of capitalism - 11 of them.
Part II discusses the problems of proposed alternatives: statist-socialism, associational democracy, social capitalism, participatory socialism, and so forth. For someone with zero background on sociology, this was absolutely fascinating and empowering to have the tools to think about this.
Finally Part III deals with the issue of transformation, and covers the different strategies that can be employed to bring about these utopian alternatives. In this part he explores different models of transformation from revolutionary communist ("ruptural") to anarchists' ("interstitial") and social democratic ("symbiotic").
I view the book itself as a comprehensive set of tools with which we can understand social conditions and phenomena in the present and by understanding, consciously choose strategies for the future.
[1] "Emancipatory social science, in its broadest terms, seeks to generate knowledge relevant to the collective project of challenging human oppression and creating the conditions in which people can live flourishing lives." (http://p2pfoundation.net/Emancipatory_Social_Science)