“Utopian” has almost become a put-down or a suggestion that one
is being unrealistic, if not naive. But I would argue that
socialists must be utopian, not in the sense of expecting
fundamental change instantaneously, but in the sense of holding
in their very being the deep desire for the realization of a
world completely unlike our own. It is that for which
generations have fought and it is that ideal that has kept many
a freedom fighter going despite tremendous adversities. What is
especially interesting about the history of capitalism is that
with its rise there also emerged the impulse towards
alternatives. These alternatives were not necessarily elaborated
as eloquently as were the theories behind capitalism and,
specifically, democratic capitalism, but they were nevertheless
important. The oppressive and often criminal nature of rising
capitalism brought with it revolutionary movements that
challenged either the system itself or components of the system.
These revolts took various forms, such as the slav