Utopianism in the Work of Zygmunt Bauman - Sociologi - Aalborg ...
Utopianism in the Work of Zygmunt Bauman - Sociologi - Aalborg ...
Utopianism in the Work of Zygmunt Bauman - Sociologi - Aalborg ...
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<strong>Utopianism</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Work</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Zygmunt</strong> <strong>Bauman</strong><br />
- Towards a Sociology <strong>of</strong> Alternative Realities<br />
Abstract<br />
Utopia has been a concern <strong>of</strong> philosophers for<br />
centuries. For most sociologists, however, a preoccupation<br />
with such a <strong>the</strong>me has been regarded<br />
as scientifically redundant and as an unnecessary<br />
departure from reality. For <strong>the</strong>m, sociology must<br />
deal with what is, not with what could be or<br />
ought to be. In recent years, <strong>the</strong> sociological <strong>the</strong>ory<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Zygmunt</strong> <strong>Bauman</strong> has been <strong>in</strong>strumental <strong>in</strong><br />
po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> possibilities, for sociology as well<br />
as for society, <strong>in</strong> utopian th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g which, <strong>in</strong> his<br />
view, must lead to social action and a change <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> current condition <strong>of</strong> what he terms liquid<br />
modernity. His <strong>the</strong>ories, though, also conta<strong>in</strong> an<br />
uncompromis<strong>in</strong>g critique <strong>of</strong> and challenge to<br />
conventional modernist understand<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> utopia<br />
and he <strong>in</strong>stead proposes a l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> utopian thought<br />
po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g to alternative realities alongside or parallel<br />
to contemporary society. Only by propos<strong>in</strong>g<br />
utopia as an open-ended vision <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> good society<br />
or <strong>the</strong> common good can we escape <strong>the</strong> ironcages<br />
<strong>of</strong> no alternatives, human suffer<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
precariousness, which <strong>Bauman</strong> regards as signs<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> times, and replace <strong>the</strong>m with a free,<br />
autonomous, and moral social order based on mutual<br />
responsibility and solidarity.<br />
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