Realism and Utopia (2020)

Realism and utopia are often seen as opposite poles. Realism, it is thought, is concerned with what is and utopia is concerned with our wishes about what we would like to be. However, once we fully examine the issue we can see that this way of thinking is mistaken. A properly developed critical theory needs to be both fully realistic and fully utopian. In certain situations it can be realistic to think that a total change in society is necessary to resolve certain problems, and it is wishful thinking to think that certain problems can be fully resolved within the context of present society. Transcript: https://www.theoryandpractice.org.uk/video/realism-and-utopia Further reading: Raymond Geuss - Philosophy and Real Politics (Princeton University Press) Raymond Geuss - Realism, Wishful Thinking and Utopia (Lecture) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6MdPt4eKks Music Credit: "Floating Pentagram" by Luke Sanger