Filozofija i drustvo 2022 Volume 33, Issue 2, Pages: 447-462
https://doi.org/10.2298/FID2202447A
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Eutopia and engagement today
Agatonović Miloš (The Academy of Applied Preschool Teaching and Health Studies - Kruševac Section, Preschool Teacher Training College), milos.agatonovic@vaspks.edu.rs
The contemporary conceptions of universal basic income (by Guy Standing), tax
havens extraction (by Gabriel Zucman), and climate emergency (by Christiana
Figueres) are briefly presented in the form of exposition in Massive
Attack’s Eutopia EP. These conceptions address the most concerning issues of
today’s world, while the concept of eutopia, proposed by Massive Attack’s
Robert Del Naja and Mark Donne, represents “a place of well-being, as a
practical aspiration,” a realistic utopia in which those issues are
resolved. The present paper discusses the conceptions presented in Eutopia,
assessing the possibility of the materialisation of eutopia. As suggested by
Massive Attack, the ideas of Eutopia can be traced back to More’s Utopia,
being rooted in a humanistic endeavour of improving humanity, inspiring
engagement and search for a better and just society. Apart from discussing
Eutopia, the paper explores Another Now, the political science-fiction novel
by Yanis Varoufakis. Varoufakis’ critique of capitalism and the alternative
he proposes in the novel Another Now argue along the same line as Eutopia,
encouraging engagement in today’s world.
Keywords: Thomas More’s Utopia, engagement, Massive Attack’s Eutopia, Yanis Varoufakis’ Another Now
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