Max Nettlau’s Utopian Vision gives a historically grounded presentation of the entire literature of utopianism. Nettlau shows an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. He passionately believes that the value of utopian thinking and class struggle should not be underestimated as utopian desire exists in all of us. Utopian thinking, according to Nettlau, stimulates the imagination and awakens the desire to attain a better life for everyone. Without it, human progress is impossible.
“...the starting point for anyone concerned with the antecedents of libertarianism in the United States...” MEN AGAINST THE STATE first appeared in the spring of 1953. Within a matter of months it had received nearly fifty highly commendatory reviews in thirteen countries in seven languages. Few products of American scholarly research in our time have gained more widespread international respect in such a short time. This book brought back into view a tradition which almost disappeared between the beginning of the First World War and the end of the Second, the philosophy and deeds of anti-statist libertarian voluntarism in the United States during the three generations which flourished between 1825 and 1910, in a style which a London commentator described as “a model of readable scholarship.” In the 1950s, the era of the “organization man” and almost unparalleled political passivity, MEN AGAINST THE STATE may have been a premature book, as some have observed, despite being reprinted two more times later in the decade. This quiet and unsensational circulation continued to further its reputation, nevertheless. In the last ten years however it has been recognized by many as the starting point for anyone concerned with the antecedents of libertarianism in the United States. The spread of interest in such thinking among a new generation has prompted the reissuance of this book, in a conventionally-printed popularly priced edition for the first time.
Utopian thinking embraces fictional descriptions of how to create a better (but not a perfect) alternative way of life as well as intentional communities (that is, groups of people leading lives in small communities for their own betterment and the betterment of others). The first edition almost exclusively dealt with the intentional-community side of utopianism; this second edition offers a much more inclusive definition of the key term utopia by offering a great many entries devoted to describing fictional or literary utopian works. It is also heavily illustrated with plates from utopian works, especially those from the heyday of utopianism in the late nineteenth century. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Utopianism contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on broad conceptual entries; narrower entries about specific works; and narrower entries about specific intentional communities or movements. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Utopianism.
An engaging historical look at fin de siécle Buenos Aires that brings to life the vibrant culture behind one of the world’s largest anarchist movements: the radical schools, newspapers, theaters, and social clubs that made revolution a way of life. Cultural history in the best sense, Paradoxes of Utopia explores how a revolutionary ideology was woven into the ordinary lives of tens of thousands of people, creating a complex tapestry of symbols, rituals, and daily practices that supported—and indeed created the possibility of—the Argentine labor movement. Juan Suriano is a professor of social history at the University of Buenos Aires.
