ABSTRACT
Whether the word is understood as ‘eu-topia’, ‘the happy place’, or as ‘u-topia’, the ‘non-place’ – two meanings which are often conflated since the happy place exists nowhere – what is the point of utopia? Raymond Williams's definition of it as ‘the education of desire’ is useful: a way of exploring who we are and what we long for. By articulating ‘the not yet’ it helps us to act in the actual world, defining objectives, giving direction to struggle and resistance, setting a political agenda and opening the door to creative dialogue.
