Contemporary Visions of Utopia
February 15, 2021 6:04 PM Subscribe
What are some recent-ish, preferably non-fiction books that provide interesting visions of possible utopian futures? I'm looking for books that go beyond specific policies and advocate for grander transformations of society, ideally backed by some research.
Some books that I've liked recently include Inventing the Future (focused on increasing automation to support a post-work future), Utopia for Realists (open borders and universal basic income), and The End of Policing (police abolition). If there's any excellent fiction along those lines, I'd be interested as long as it's something that's a very plausible extension of the current world. I lean left-wing in my politics though I am also curious about right-wing visions as long as they're intellectually serious to some degree (no talk-radio-host books or QAnon garbage).
Some books that I've liked recently include Inventing the Future (focused on increasing automation to support a post-work future), Utopia for Realists (open borders and universal basic income), and The End of Policing (police abolition). If there's any excellent fiction along those lines, I'd be interested as long as it's something that's a very plausible extension of the current world. I lean left-wing in my politics though I am also curious about right-wing visions as long as they're intellectually serious to some degree (no talk-radio-host books or QAnon garbage).
You might be interested in adrienne maree brown's Emergent Strategy.
posted by prewar lemonade at 6:29 PM on February 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by prewar lemonade at 6:29 PM on February 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Peter Frase's Four Futures might be of interest.
posted by minervous at 9:14 PM on February 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by minervous at 9:14 PM on February 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I'm not sure that the authors would call it utopic, but Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy does describe a reasonably positive way forward.
posted by gregr at 8:24 AM on February 16, 2021
posted by gregr at 8:24 AM on February 16, 2021
Best answer: Pretty much all the fiction by Kim Stanley Robinson is great for this kind of thing. His recent novel The Ministry for the Future in particular starts in the 2020s and feels like a possible future.
posted by gregr at 8:29 AM on February 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by gregr at 8:29 AM on February 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Glimpses of Utopia by Jess Scully who is currently deputy lord mayor of Sydney.
posted by cogat at 4:10 AM on February 17, 2021
posted by cogat at 4:10 AM on February 17, 2021
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posted by Fiasco da Gama at 6:18 PM on February 15, 2021 [1 favorite]