Globalization and Utopia ─ Critical Essays

This book explores debates about the demise of Utopia at the end of the twentieth century, and examines the potential renewal of political imagination and the Utopian impulse today. The discussion is set in an enlarged and enriched frame that situates utopianism in relation to the complexities and challenges of globalization. Critically investigating many of the unacknowledged assumptions about the inevitability of our current social and political experiences, this collection considers questions of hope and transformation associated with the Utopian desire for social change. It explores the range of political responses that Utopian actors have in light of globalization - ranging from 'everyday life' to global politics, from anti-consumerism to cyber-utopianism. This book makes a timely contribution to considering the challenge of imagining a different and better way of living in a global age.