Synopsis
A vast Marxist study of utopian longing, reading daydreams, myths, art, and politics as expressions of humanity's drive toward a not-yet-realized future.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workHuman beings are defined by hope, by a reaching toward a better world that is not yet but could become real through transformative action.
It treats utopian desire as a serious engine of history rather than escapism, grounding politics in the anticipation of what could be.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Michael Oakeshott, Rationalism in Politics.
Reading note
Read this enormous work selectively, sampling Bloch's encyclopedic readings of culture for his core philosophy of hope.
Best paired with
Michael Oakeshott, Rationalism in Politics