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This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Is it possible to create a better world? Can this be done without the image of an ideal world to guide us? What would such a world be like? There has been a marked renewal of interest in utopian thought, as the exposed economic, social and political dysfunctions of modern society have forced us to re-examine our visions of the future. Yet the wealth of utopian literature on which we could draw remains inaccessible or poorly understood. This book readdresses this imbalance, with a collection of essays, each centred on a key passage in a canonical utopian work that challenges the commonly accepted interpretation of that work and allows us to examine it with fresh insight. At the same time, by contextualising each passage within the text as a whole, readers are enabled to reflect on the meaning and reception of the work and on its significance in the history of utopian thought. Broad in scope and original in approach, this textbook is an encouragement to students and scholars alike to read the utopian classics afresh.

The political theories of John Kenneth Galbraith expressed in his latest book ECONOMICS AND THE PUBLIC PURPOSE reflect a progression towards utopian reformism. Galbraith contends that the giant corporations are controlled by their technostructures--large groups of specialists with scientific, technical, or administrative training. Actually, the ultimate purpose of any capitalist enterprise is to make as much profit as possible & to grow as rapidly as possible, & these objectives necessarily are the goal of management; managers act as capitalists in behalf of owners. In Galbraith's view, the technostructure controls the planning system, the market, & the state for its own gain, & is able to rule through its ideological strength & acceptance. His utopian reformist proposals would attempt to "emancipate" the government from the grip of the technostructure over the bureaucrats by using the Democratic Party to usher in new elected officials who would develop a "public state" & a "new socialism." But the reality is that the highest reaches of the government bureaucracies are overwhelmingly staffed by members of the dominant economic class or people dependent on them, & that the 2 major parties are controlled by these vested interests. A strategy to unseat the richest & most powerful ruling class in world history must be centered on the potential power of the broad Wc that is indispensable to production. Like most liberals, Galbraith sees little hope in US workers; hence he proposes launching an ideological counterattack against the technostructure to stir up a new brand of populism. But if power has not slipped from capitalists to a self-aggrandizing technostructure, then this "hard-headed, realistic" strategy will not lead to the creation of a benevolent, utopian public state. A. Karmen.

Utopian communities‐an alternative community form–vary from large, comprehensive settlements in which most aspects of life are collectively organized to small informal households low on comprehensiveness and collectivization, like many contemporary communes. The initial stages, organizational problems, politics, and economic organization of both highly‐structured large communes and minimally‐structured small communes are discussed.

ABSTRACT
Although the terms utopia and utopian are used in Spain, they are commonly understood as imaginary representations that are impossible to realize. Nevertheless, because of the political and financial crises that have affected all corners of the globe, utopia is now thriving in the media. It is especially linked to street protests, alternative movements, and Internet organizations that mobilize individuals and communities through consciousness-raising activities. This article very briefly outlines the "utopian" in Spain and attempts to offer an updated picture of utopian studies research groups in the country.

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the development and current state of utopian studies in Ireland. It frames utopian studies in the Irish context as an evolving interdisciplinary space, facilitating both innovations within established scholarly discussions and dialogues beyond received boundaries—including that between academic scholarship and social critique. Without any pretention to exhaustiveness, it surveys a number of areas of teaching and research in Irish higher education that actively engage with the open paradigm of utopian studies and indicates a number of currently live questions.

ABSTRACT
Although the idea of utopia has always been intertwined with both the concept of maritime space and the Portuguese "myth-history," the Portuguese have never generated a truly utopian literary tradition. Still, close contact with French and English literature resulted in the production of some utopias and dystopias, which this article briefly describes. The article further explains how the funding model for academic research in Portugal has shaped the way the field of utopian studies has developed in the country.