What is it about?
The paper takes a long perspective on utopia in Zygmunt Bauman´s sociology. We begin with the 1970s and follow this strand of thought until the last work, Retrotopia (2017). We focus on Bauman´s transitions from modernity to postmodernity and beyond.
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Why is it important?
The paper arrives at a new understanding of Bauman which is appreciative of his overall sociological utopianism but critical of his late 1980s and early 1990s treatment of modernity as one-sidedly dystopian. The paper argues that such a critique is incompatible with Bauman´s enduring commitment to socialism. Socialism is the bright side of modernity that Bauman fails to account for. His normative view of society is distinctly modern.
Perspectives
I feel the paper is worth a read for those interested in Bauman and/or utopia. Utopia is not or should not a rogue issue in sociology. It is time to debunk this dogma.
Martin Aidnik
Tallinna Ulikool
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The U-turn of utopia – Utopia, socialism and modernity in Zygmunt Bauman’s social thought, Irish Journal of Sociology, January 2019, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0791603519825827.
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