Planet Utopia: Utopia, Dystopia, and Globalisation

It has become clear that utopian thought has returned to the political scene. Featherstone traces the history of utopia, from its origins in the works of the Ancients and Plato, through the works of Thomas More and Thomas Hobbes, to the really-existing utopias-dystopias of the European totalitarians, and finally the realisation of post-modern Empire. He examines a number of contemporary case studies, such as the utopian-dystopian state of Brazilian and South African urbanism, the Iraq War, the conflict urbanism of Israel-Palestine, and the politics of the network society. Exploring the reality of our really-existing dystopia, Featherstone furthers the potential of solutions to the problems of intentionality, the crisis of rationality, and the politics of the network society. This examination of the nature of utopian politics in the 21st century will be essential reading for political scientists, sociologists, and students of globalization.