ABSTRACT
In this chapter we consider the ways in which the term “utopia(n)” is used in mainstream political discourse and public policy to discredit and dismiss alternative proposals. This extends, we argue, to relatively mild, social democratic proposals, which neoliberal capitalism positions as utopian. In rejecting this usage of the term, we reject its rejection of the progressive ideas that are designated and dismissed as utopian. The chapter draws on critical scholars' arguments about the ongoing need to articulate endpoints as guides for action, while acknowledging the complexities of ideal and non-ideal theorizing, of assessing the feasibility of endpoints and actions, of transitional goals, etc. In support of the ongoing need for dreams and dreamers, to use Freire's imagery, we argue for the utopian force of imagined, dreamed, alternatives, worked toward and realized through collective action, as important points for anchoring for political life in the bleak and pessimistic context of 21st century, neoliberal capitalism.
