Utopianism and Marxism

The Author: Vincent Geoghegan is Professor of Political Theory at Queen’s University, Belfast. Besides Utopianism and Marxism he is also the author of Reason and Eros: The Social Theory of Herbert Marcuse (1981) and Ernst Bloch (1996). He is currently working on a book on interwar British religious radicals.

«No book I know does such a great job explaining what utopian thinking is, defending it, presenting its history and the contribution of its most important figures, and inspiring the reader to think more and more systematically about the kind of world he/she wants than Vincent Geoghegan’s ‘Utopianism and Marxism’. All this and impeccable scholarship and beautiful writing too. Highly recommended for any course that has as one of its main goals to help students think for themselves about the biggest problems of our day.» (Professor Bertell Ollman, New York University, author of ‘Dance of the Dialectic: Steps in Marx’s Method’)«This lucid and acute study of the paradoxical relationship between Marxism and utopianism has become an important reference for those interested in understanding both of these phenomena. Starting from an analysis of the ambivalent nature of Marx’s and Engels’s relationship with utopian modes of thinking, it draws attention to a disparate body of twentieth-century socialist intellectuals who exhibited a shared interest in exploring and promoting utopian themes and practices. At the heart of ‘Utopianism and Marxism’ is an incisive plea for progressives to take more seriously the visionary dimensions of political thinking.» (Professor Michael Kenny, University of Sheffield, author of ‘The First New Left’ in Britain)«'Utopianism and Marxism' is a readable and rewarding text that would well serve the interests of utopian scholars, Marxist critics, political and social scientists, and anyone who thinks deeply about social organization and its relationship to social justice.» (Thomas J. Morrissey, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts)

• Contents: Preface to Classics Edition – Acknowledgements to First Edition – Introduction: In Praise of Utopianism – The Utopian Socialists – Marx, Engels and Utopianism – The Second International – Golden Ages and Myths – Stalinism and Authoritarian Utopianism – Ernst Bloch and the Ubiquity of Utopia – Herbert Marcuse Turns to Sigmund Freud – Rudolf Bahro: East and West – André Gorz – Conclusion: Marxism and Utopianism.