In Defense of Utopia

Abstract

Many socialists have a knee-jerk reaction against the word "utopian" that comes from not quite comprehending the Marxian critique of the utopian socialists. Marx and Engels disputed not their vision of life in socialist society but their unrealistic belief that propaganda alone would bring it about. In their time the word "utopian" was synonymous with "unrealistic." But like many words in a living language, "utopian" has taken on new meanings since then.

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