Envisioning Real Utopias

by Erik Olin Wright

Rising inequality of income and power, along with the recent convulsions in the finance sector, have made the search for alternatives to unbridled capitalism more urgent than ever. Yet there has been a global retreat by the Left: on the assumption that liberal capitalism is the only game in town, political theorists tend to dismiss as utopian any attempt to rethink our social and economic relations. As Fredric Jameson first argued, it is now easier for us to imagine the end of the world than an alternative to capitalism.

Erik Olin Wright’s Envisioning Real Utopias is a comprehensive assault on the quietism of contemporary social theory. Building on a lifetime’s work analyzing the class system in the developed world, as well as exploring the problem of the transition to a socialist alternative, Wright has now completed a systematic reconstruction of the core values and feasible goals for Left theorists and political actors. Envisioning Real Utopias aims to put the social back into socialism, laying the foundations for a set of concrete, emancipatory alternatives to the capitalist system. Characteristically rigorous and engaging, this will become a landmark of social thought for the twenty-first century.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Sociology, Utopia, Theory, Economics

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 2010

About the author

Erik Olin Wright was an American analytical Marxist sociologist, specializing in social stratification, and in egalitarian alternative futures to capitalism. He was the (2012) President of the American Sociological Association.
Erik Olin Wright received two BAs (from Harvard College in 1968, and from Balliol College in 1970), and the PhD from University of California, Berkeley, in 1976. Since that time, he has been a professor of sociology at University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Wright has been described as an "influential new left theorist." His work is concerned mainly with the study of social classes, and in particular with the task of providing an update to and elaboration of the Marxist concept of class, in order to enable Marxist and non-Marxist researchers alike to use 'class' to explain and predict people's material interests, lived experiences, living conditions, incomes, organizational capacities and willingness to engage in collective action, political leanings, etc. In addition, he has attempted to develop class categories that would allow researchers to compare and contrast the class structures and dynamics of different advanced capitalist and 'post-capitalist' societies.

Reviews

[Steffi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regrettably, Erik Olin Wright (EOW) had to die (January this year) in order for me to finally embark on his work. Since his passing, I have read the most wonderful obituaries by many of his former students - many quite famous in their own right by now - leaving me thinking what a great human being and teacher EOW must have been.

On the other hand, when the book 'Envisioning Real Utopias' came out in 2010, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as now in 2019. In 2010, things were too depressing and hopeless to think about an alternative to capitalism in earnest. Now, for the first time in decades, we are actually, potentially, very close to begin implementing socialism in the Western world. It's kind of high time to move beyond the socialist rhetoric (hear, hear) and get down to business: socialism - what does that actually mean?

This is where EOW's 'real utopias' comes in - as a 'no bullshit Marxist' (or 'analytical Marxist'), EOW is not interested in the fantasy of 'smashing capitalism' which he considers a) not viable and b) probably not emancipatory, and explores other transformative strategies and principles to transform capitalism into an emancipatory project. While some of this reads social democratic ('taming capitalism'), the ultimate aim is to weaken capitalist power structures to transform these and to exploit the cracks within capitalism to build real-life, non-capitalist alternatives within capitalism ('interstitial strategies' - there's a new word for ya) which could become more dominant features of the transforming mode of production (think wikipedia or worker cooperatives).

Most importantly, I suppose, is the proposition of principles for an emancipatory project: what's required to move towards socialism of the 21st century, is a 'democratization of democracy' or radical democracy - having a socialist party in power does not equal socialism - electoral takeover (Bernie) could be one of the many elements required to embark on a massive reorganization (based on popular support) of the world we know it (fucked up, in crisis).

Too bad EOW had to die at a time where his massive research project 'real utopias' (for which he toured the world for years) is becoming most relevant. We really need it now. I think the left has taken note of it. For sure, John McDonnel's 'The Economy for the Many' (UK Labour's manifesto) has EOW's hand writing all over it.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

With all thew uproar these days about how "NObama is a Socialist-Kenyan-Marxist-Nazi-Muslim", reading what an actual socialist believes is a vital antidote. Wright simply wants radical socialist democracy; the People empowered to make collective decisions over their own lives, with Capital and the State reduced until they can provide necessary services, but they no longer threaten the common welfare. While this is an admirable goal, this book is not quite up to the task. It feels musty, and set up bold claims and analytic frameworks while flinching away from the ultimate conclusions of what it would mean to live in a world of radical egalitarianism.

The Marxist analysis of the structural flaws of capitalism, and the way in which economic competition select for bad behavior is remains deadly accurate, but in many other respects, even this modernized Marxism fails to explain how capitalism will develop, and how it will develop given the admitted failure of the homogenization of the working class and the labor theory of productivity over the 20th century (two traditional Marxist keystone theories).

Society remains the most important actor in the book, and the least-well defined. Mutual solidarity and discussion is all well and good, but Wright doesn't quite develop the differences in society between the scales of say, a small worker-owned collective, a town, a nation, and the entire world. Ambitious plans for universal living wages and social ownership leave aside the massive inequalities between the 1st and 3rd world, and the 99% and the 1%. Finally, Wright has the typical Marxist valorization of the Worker, without considering how essentially non-economic activities fit into his utopian framework. This relentless materialism is both the strength of Marxism, and also its weakness, as it leaves a hollow "sociality" to battle against the Right's ideology of "liberty"

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very clear and sober look at the options and possibilities of socialism in the present-future. Wright eschews being any kind of prophet or revolutionary. His appeal to socialism carries an urgency, but Wright continually warns that it's not a transformation that can happen with narrow-minded acts of will, but requires experimentation and an openness for strategic change.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

To speak of real utopias is to be paradoxical, given that the OED (for instance) defines it as “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect” – and while cynics may see the paradox as lying in the ideal of perfection, the paradox of course lies in the utopia as imagined (and therefore unreal – so a real utopia is more than a paradox, it is an oxymoron). Yet, ironically, real utopias are essential aspects of social and political life, action and a desire for change. The length of this ‘review’ – and it is pretty long – is a sign of the importance of this flawed book: rather than about 1600 words this piece could easily have been 5000 words.

This book is, however, about so much more than some kind of naïve thinking, the kinds of utopian retreats from the world that we have seen so often in a wide range of political and social activities – from hippie communes to reactionary survivalist enclaves – or in the abstract thinking of so much that shapes contemporary economic and social policy; if the Rational Economic Man of classical economics and imperatives of monetarist and other forms of neo-liberal thought are not utopian then I am not sure what is. In this book, Wright seems to be trying to draw together some conclusions from work he has been doing and guiding for the last 20 years or so in the Real Utopias Project, an attempt to revisit, revise and rejuvenate ideas at the centre of socialism. He does this through the simple notion of putting the social back into socialism.

The upshot is an intriguing, challenging and exciting but ultimately uneven and flawed book. At the heart of the argument is an important attempt to move beyond statist (or state-centred) political alternatives and strategies. One of the things that the 20th century history of the left has taught us is that seizing control of the state as a means to liberation is, at best, a highly problematic approach and at worst probably not a suitable means to building a new world. Wright’s approach through the Real Utopias Project (and earlier) has been to develop a focus on civil society – those social institutions that are neither part of the state nor directly economic agents, forces or institutions, that is, (as he puts it on p 119) “the sphere of interaction in which people voluntarily form associations of different sorts for various purposes”. He also, quite properly, notes that in many cases ‘voluntary’ can be a problematic notion.

Based on this emphasis on civil society, he explores what he calls a ‘social compass’ – a series of articulations of three domains of power – economic, state and social (civil society) – as they may influence the allocation of resources and the control of production and distribution (i.e., the economy), to put the social back into socialism. This sketch of strategic approaches to change and the socio-political order of society is framed by two other characteristics, a theory of justice incorporating both social and political forms and a theory of democracy incorporating representative, direct and associational aspects, that combine to frame a theory of radical democratic egalitatianism.

Wright is, however, primarily a sociologist working within an emancipatory social science framework so his approach to social alternatives is also grounded in three criteria: desirability – that is, the extent to which the proposals would eliminate or ameliorate the problems identified in the analysis (what he calls diagnosis & critique), viability – or whether they would produce the desired consequences – and third, achieveability – or whether, given the existing social conditions and balance of social forces they are achieveable. This latter requirement – achieveability – is not, for Wright, a constraint producing a form of lowest common denominator reformism, but a requirement to bear in mind existing conditions in developing approaches to transformation that are intended in the longer term to produce the transformations leading to the desirable social alternative. This means that in his view any theory (or approach to) transformation must encapsulate a theory of social reproduction, a theory of the gaps and contradictions in the process of social reproduction, an understanding of the underlying dynamics of change and the likely trajectories of unintended consequences and finally a theory of collective actors, strategies and struggles. The section on the tasks and approaches of emancipatory social science is an extremely good outline of the sorts of approaches necessary in developing applied scholarly interventions to social, cultural and political struggles.

The core of the book is then turned over to exploring this complex of ideas – radical democratic egalitarian approaches to forms of economies where civil society (social power) is the dominant social force. This exploration is based in a consideration of a series of examples including participatory budgeting (such as in Porto Allegro), universal basic incomes, on-line communities (through an assessment of wikipedia), economic cooperatives (with a focus on Mondragon in the Basque country). These cases then allow him to tease out some of the strengths and weakness of various of the articulations of economic, state and social power. The essential component of all of this is that this approach to social change relies on an analysis that sees any socio-economic condition as hybrid, so a capitalist society also includes a range of economic practices that are non-capitalist as well as anti-capitalist.

In building this case he also outlines eleven compelling criticisms of capitalism:
1. its class relations perpetuate eliminable forms of human suffering;
2. it blocks the universalisation of conditions for expansive human flourishing;
3. it perpetuates eliminable deficits in individual freedom and autonomy;
4. it violates liberal egalitarian principles of social justice;
5. it is inefficient in crucial respects (such as in the calculation of full economic costs);
6. it has systematic bias towards consumerism;
7. it is environmentally destructive;
8. its drive to commodify threatens broadly held values;
9. in the context of nation states, it fuels militarism and imperialism;
10. it corrodes community; and
11. it limits democracy
and in doing so he mounts a compelling critique of orthodox Marxism as not wrong in its analysis but in need of revision of its assessment of the effects of capitalism as necessarily leading to socialist transformation.

So far, so good – but then comes the weakness and source of uneven-ness: the theory of transformation. He proposes three forms of transformation: rupture (associated with ‘revolutionary’ socialism); interstitial transformation (associated anarchism); and symbiotic transformation (associated with social democracy/’reformist’ socialism). This typology is a good start, and one that we can work with and develop, as is his view that effective social transformation needs to incorporate all three approaches if we want to build meaningful alternatives. The discussion is, however, unbalanced to the extent that its usefulness is limited. Ruptural and interstitial transformations merit comparatively brief discussions at fairly abstract levels shaped by Wright’s dependence on Adam Przeworski’s analytical Marxist work on the transition to socialism (most obvious in the discussion of ‘ruptural’ transformation). The discussion of ‘symbiotic’ transformation however descends into a detailed-to-the-point-of-deadening attempt to undermine critiques of ‘reformism’ as class compromise based on a fairly arcane discussion of the balance between employers’ class power and workers’ associational influence in forms of capitalist economies. In doing so Wright seems to lose sight of many of the consequences of his eleven criticisms of capitalism in favour of a form of rational choice Marxism, and to an extent of the big picture. As a consequence, he seems to place too much emphasis on ‘achieveabliity’ rather than desirability.

It may be that my concern here is a question of a difference in the assessment of the balance of forces in contemporary capitalism linked in part to the passage of events since Wright wrote the book – it was published in 2010 (with the preface dated July 2009). In the interim we have seen the death of Mohammed Bouazizi and all that led to including the occupation of Tahrir Square and its various consequences, the emergence of the Occupy movement including social forces such as los indignados and the vital social and political struggles of workers such as those in Wright’s home state of Wisconsin, the precariat in Spain, Greece and elsewhere in the EU, and of a mass social movement that came to wider consciousness with a few tents in Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona, Syntagma Square in Athens, Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan or outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London and in doing so showed the tip of a much wider social movement. I suspect not, however; Wright has long standing links with the analytical Marxism group whose work I have often found limited in their emphasis on rational choice approaches even as I share many of their concerns about some of the more teleological elements of Marxism which I hold alongside other concerns about socialist strategy and tactics premised on the leadership of a monolithic vanguard party.

My concern about the theory of transformation Wright proposes is, however, at a level of detail and is raised as what might once have been called a comradely critique. For too long we on the left have accentuated what separates us, leading to a fractured political movement that often led to a sectarianism that has hindered our work. Wright has given us rich, challenging, sophisticated analysis of contemporary social and economic circumstances, begun to outline the shape of a strategic programme, reminded us of the important place of emancipatory social scientific approaches in both our analysis and our visions of a better future. More that all of these things, however, Wright has also challenged us to consider the place of the alternatives that shape our social relations in the here-and-now and the way they build a better world in the time-to-come; that is, the essential role of our attempts to build real utopias now in the longer term struggles for a better world. This book should have a vital place in the current debates about the shape of the contemporary politics of the left; put it alongside the vibrant debates emerging form the Occupy movement, and my currently favoured Marta Harnecker’s superb Rebuilding the Left .

Essential reading.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hopeful and encouraging look at ways to work within the capitalistic framework with the aim to improve economic, social, and political equality. Well-researched, with a look at efforts like the Mondragon cooperative and how they presently work, framed in a larger discussion providing a social theory in which we can evaluate economic systems in terms of how just they are for their participants. A definite must-read for those interested in economic and social justice.

[Zéro Janvier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utopies réelles est un ouvrage du sociologue américain Erik Olin Wright, publié en anglais en 2010 et traduit en français en 2017. L’ambition de l’auteur était de proposer des pistes pour sortir du capitalisme, en s’appuyant notamment des expérimentations et des expériences anticapitalistes ou postcapitalistes, ce qu’il appelle des utopies réelles.

Pourquoi et comment sortir du capitalisme ? Quelles sont les alternatives d'ores et déjà présentes ? Peut-on, doit-on réinventer les socialismes par des réalisations concrètes ? Avec quels outils, quelles formes d'action, quelles institutions ? Telles sont les vastes questions, solidaires les unes des autres, auxquelles répond ce livre original et magistral, synthèse d'une enquête internationale et collective de plusieurs années sur les théories les plus actuelles de l'émancipation ainsi que sur de nombreux projets vivants de transformation radicale, ou plus graduelle, déjà observables dans les domaines social, économique et politique.

Grâce à un regard rigoureux et acéré, appelé à fonder un nouveau programme de recherche sur les expérimentations postcapitalistes contemporaines, se détachent une conception neuve du progrès et de ses instruments potentiels ainsi qu'une vision scientifique des modalités de dépassement du capitalisme.

Les utopies réelles ne sont ni pour les idéalistes ni pour les réalistes. Ce sont les expériences vécues, les projections audacieuses qui créent dès maintenant les conditions et les formes d'un avenir meilleur, d'un autre futur possible.

Traité savant, arme au service d'un renouveau nécessaire de l'imagination politique, Utopies réelles figure déjà parmi les classiques de la pensée sociale du XXIe siècle.

Avant de commencer ce livre, j’avais lu Stratégies anticapitalistes pour le XXIe siècle, un essai plus court qui se voulait à la fois une synthèse et un prolongement de celui-ci. Je dois dire que j’ai apprécié d’avoir lu la « version courte » avant de m’attaquer à la « version longue », dont les 637 pages et le ton théorique voire académique peut faire peur.

Il s’agit en effet d’un livre dense, peut-être trop dense parfois. L’inconvénient, c’est que l’on peut parfois se perdre dans la pensée de l’auteur, qui enchaine les analyses, les facteurs, les récusations et les synthèses à un rythme parfois difficiles à suivre quand on ne reste pas concentré suffisamment sur le texte. L’avantage, et c’est plutôt ce que j’ai envie d’en retenir, c’est qu’il est très riche en idées et en possibilités que l'on a envie d'explorer.

C’est un livre qui analyse les méfaits du capitalisme, élabore des concepts et une théorie de transformation sociale, décrit les stratégies qui s’offre à nous, et tente de proposer des solutions en s’inspirant de propositions théoriques ou d’expériences concrètes. L’auteur nous amène ainsi à réfléchir, à nous poser des questions, et finalement nous donne envie de nous engager pour expérimenter.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following a talk given by one of my comrades, I determined to read the late, great Erik Olin Wright's Envisioning Real Utopias rather than just grabbing little excerpts of his work on class analysis off the internet. Judging by the comments made by several comrades at the talk, Envisioning Real Utopias is, or at least should be, considered one of the modern classics of socialist theory — it's been widely read and widely beloved in the (admittedly rather small) world of people who read left theory; there are comrades who have acquired multiple copies and lent them to people (sometimes not getting them back — so basically, it's the Good Omens of left theory), which certainly indicates a certain stature. Despite my current level of burnout, which is hovering around "Has to stop and play FreeCell on my phone every two pages" levels and has been for months, I finally made it through all 400 pages.

It was definitely worth it. Stylistically, it's fairly accessible by the standards of "full-length theory books written by professional sociologists"; it's certainly not a breezy read but it's pretty good at explaining the jargon it has to use and is otherwise a readable introduction to the subject matter for a reasonably well-educated adult reader. The tone is decidedly not polemic, which can be a nice change of pace when reading leftist writings; it takes a fairly evenhanded, nuanced approach to sorting through the various criticisms and counter-criticisms of each topic it covers. It is also nice and straightforwardly organized: There is a prefatory section, explaining the Real Utopias project and Wright's understanding of the tasks of "emancipatory social science"; there is a diagnostic section, in which he critiques arguments in favor of capitalism and explores why an alternative is desirable; there is an "alternatives" section, which looks at seven different alternative structural proposals and a handful of case studies in building non-capitalist institutions of various sorts; and lastly, there is a "transformation" section, which discusses different approaches to creating social change. Since it covers a lot of ground, some of the coverage of specific projects must necessarily be a bit shallow, but it's meticulously cited so the reader has more than enough resources on hand if they wish to learn about, say, the Mondragon cooperatives in greater depth. And the information that is there is still quite solid and informative — this isn't a book to rip through; there's far too much to chew on.

I think this book is an especially good fit for DSA comrades who want to move beyond The ABCs of Socialism-level stuff because it fits very well within the DSA's general multitendency ethos. Some other organizations — and even comrades within DSA itself — sometimes lament our lack of a single political "line," seeming to take it for granted that not having one unified plan for smashing capitalism means we're just hopelessly bumbling along. Olin Wright does a good job of laying out the the reasoning for taking a "democratic experimentalist" approach to social change and unifies a seemingly disparate bundle of projects under the guiding principles of a "socialist compass." The book doesn't so much set out a method for building socialism as it does set out methods for figuring out how to build socialism, which, considering nobody has actually figured out how to build socialism yet (and anyone who says they have is selling something — in this case, probably newspapers) is much more useful.

Originally posted at Democratic experimentalism and the socialist compass.

[Wilbur Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book -- obligatory reading for leftists, both for defining the terms of debates and for its contributions to those debates.

Would have liked to see a bit more work defending its (unusual, I think) definition of socialism -- but I was sympathetic enough to take it as given.

Has got me thinking about the social prerequisites of socialism, and how state policy affects these.

[Pierre-Olivier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dans utopies réelles, Olin Wright y présente sont projet de transformation sociale et de dépassement du capitalisme. Le livre est dans la droite ligné de l’ontologie des catégories réifiées de la valeur. Vu sous l’angle de la domination, de l’exploitation et du sujet moderne des lumières , la grille d’analyse se veut très exotériques. Ce qui limite grandement l’action des subjectivités vivantes pour un projet politique ayant une totale remise en question de la civilisation sous la modernité de l’économie, la forme marchandise et la tyrannie du travail abstrait . Même l’acceptation du libéralisme me semble une béquille épistémologique. A lire au lieux : John Holloway ou Jerome baschet.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the ideas for social empowerment are awfully narrow, and I think the book would have benefitted from a more detailed discussion of why people oppose markets. Otherwise, it gave me lots to think about.

[Marius CEO · Rating 4 out of 5]

It made me dream, at first.

In the end, however, it made me act.

Wonderful book.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

review coming soon!

[Sett Wai · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, acclaimed sociologist Erik O. Wright has mapped out a framework for thinking about alternative possible societies and social mechanisms. Societies that are more "just and humane" than the world in which live today. He does so in such a sharp, concise fashion, it could almost be described as scientific precision[1].

Despite coming from a strong Marxist tradition (but ultimately deeming Marxist alternatives "unsatisfactory"), Wright has written the book with a "broad, relatively popular audience in mind". You don't have to be familiar with academic writing, sociology or have had any previous exposure to so-called leftist literature at all to appreciate this book.

Wright acknowledges that we now live in a world where radical visions are "often mocked rather than taken seriously". He says that the belief in the possibility of radical alternatives is what shaped the gains we have in contemporary society. To expand on that point he begins the book by offering examples of "Real Utopias", microcosms within society that are radical alternative institutions: Wikipedia, Participatory Budgeting, Mondragon and Unconditional Basic Income.

The rest book itself is divided into three parts:

Part I presents a basic diagnosis and critique of the current system, capitalism. I felt like simply reading Part I was rewarding enough as Wright has probably written the most powerful concise critiques of capitalism - 11 of them.

Part II discusses the problems of proposed alternatives: statist-socialism, associational democracy, social capitalism, participatory socialism, and so forth. For someone with zero background on sociology, this was absolutely fascinating and empowering to have the tools to think about this.

Finally Part III deals with the issue of transformation, and covers the different strategies that can be employed to bring about these utopian alternatives. In this part he explores different models of transformation from revolutionary communist ("ruptural") to anarchists' ("interstitial") and social democratic ("symbiotic").

I view the book itself as a comprehensive set of tools with which we can understand social conditions and phenomena in the present and by understanding, consciously choose strategies for the future.

[1] "Emancipatory social science, in its broadest terms, seeks to generate knowledge relevant to the collective project of challenging human oppression and creating the conditions in which people can live flourishing lives." (http://p2pfoundation.net/Emancipatory...)

[Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clearly structured and lucidly written book on "real utopian" alternatives to capitalism. A draft version is freely available online at the author's webpage. The book is divided in three parts (and some introductory chapters):

The first part discusses critiques of capitalism. The author sets some broad values and attempts to discuss how capitalism goes against such values. This part can be read independently and I would say it is a good summary of contemporary anticapitalist thought.

The second part discusses specific alternatives to capitalism from the perspective of socialism, understood as a democratic power over the economy; there is first a brief discussion of the ways that different kinds of power interact and then there are two chapters that discuss specific alternatives to the liberal democracy model. There is a first chapter on improving democracy (as a way to prevent authoritarianism in statist socialism) and a second chapter on economical proposals.
There is one proposal that is very US-specific and there are other parts (the one that discusses Wikipedia) that are somewhat outdated (who remembes Knol nowadays?), but there are some interesting proposals too.

The third and last part discusses how to get those proposals into practice, through different leftist strategies. There are chapters on revolutionary praxis, prefigurativism and class compromise. This part was mostly theoretical but was nonetheless interesting and a decent summary of some of the strategies endorsed by different ideological currents.

I overall liked the book a lot and it brought some new ideas into mind, but I suspect that a more recent book by the author might summarize their thought better. I have yet to read one of these, though.

[Sae-Hwan Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why Read a Book on “Real Utopias”?

In an era marked by escalating income inequality, financial upheavals, and a growing disenchantment with unbridled capitalism, the search for viable alternatives is more urgent than ever. My own dual perspective as an AI researcher and a social theorist motivates a keen interest in Wright’s work: *Envisioning Real Utopias* offers not only a systematic critique of capitalism but also a set of concrete proposals for institutional redesign. It is a book that challenges us to envision a society where democratic and egalitarian principles are operationalized—moving beyond abstract utopian dreams toward practical, emancipatory alternatives.

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Notable and Unusual Insights

1. From Utopian Fantasies to “Real Utopias”
Wright’s redefinition of “utopia” is both innovative and pragmatic. Rather than dismissing alternative social orders as mere fantasies, he argues for “real utopias”—institutions that are both idealistic in their vision and grounded in achievable strategies. By shifting the discourse from abstract ideals to tangible proposals, Wright inspires a reimagining of our social structures based on principles of empowerment and democratic participation.

2. Decoding Hybrid Social Systems
A central insight of the book is the disaggregation of modern society into overlapping spheres—capitalism, statism, and socialism. Wright shows that these systems are not mutually exclusive but coexist in hybrid forms. This nuanced perspective challenges traditional views that conflate socialism with centralized state control and instead posits that real social empowerment comes from embedding democratic values across all spheres of society. This analysis paves the way for designing institutions that can progressively shift power from entrenched economic elites to more democratic, community-based structures.

3. Multi-Pronged Strategies for Transformation
Wright identifies three strategic logics for societal change:
- Ruptural Transformation: The classic revolutionary approach that directly confronts existing power structures—a method Wright finds largely impractical on a large scale.
- Interstitial Transformation: A gradual strategy that enlarges spaces of democratic participation on society’s margins. This approach focuses on building alternative institutions that, over time, may tip the balance in favor of egalitarian practices.
- Symbiotic Transformation: A cooperative model that works within and alongside current institutions, aiming for incremental yet meaningful reforms.

These frameworks suggest that systemic change requires a blend of strategies—tailored to specific contexts and driven by both reformist and innovative impulses.

4. Empirical Grounding and Contemporary Applications
Wright bolsters his theoretical insights with case studies such as participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre and the cooperative experiments at Mondragón. These real-world examples illustrate how democratic processes can be embedded in economic structures. Today, similar principles are being explored through emerging movements like platform cooperatives and commons-based peer production. These models—seen in digital cooperatives and open-source projects—reflect a growing trend toward economic democracy, where technology enables decentralized, collaborative decision-making and resource allocation. Such experiments are the modern descendants of Wright’s “real utopias,” suggesting that the principles he outlines continue to find innovative applications in our digital age.

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AI, Data Science, and Institutional Redesign

From an my own lens as AI researcher, I am tempted to think that contemporary tools in data science and machine learning can serve as critical allies in the pursuit of the institutional redesign Wright advocates:

- Enhanced Participatory Governance: Data-driven algorithms can support participatory budgeting and deliberative decision-making by analyzing large datasets of citizen input and modeling the potential impacts of various policy choices. Rather than replacing human judgment, these tools can help policymakers simulate outcomes, optimize resource allocation, and ensure that citizen voices are systematically incorporated into governance processes.

- Transparency and Accountability: By leveraging techniques in algorithmic fairness and explainability, digital platforms can be designed to minimize biases and ensure accountability in public decision-making. This is crucial for building trust in decentralized, democratic institutions that aim to subvert traditional power hierarchies.

- Platform Cooperatives and Commons-Based Peer Production: Good data analytics can enhance the management of platform cooperatives by optimizing network interactions, facilitating equitable profit sharing, and supporting distributed decision-making processes. Such applications are already emerging in various forms—ranging from decentralized finance projects to community-owned digital platforms—that echo Wright’s vision of economic democracy without succumbing to centralization or top-down control.

These realistic and practical applications illustrate how advanced technologies can complement and reinforce the institutional innovations outlined by Wright, helping to create systems that are not only theoretically sound but also operationally effective in our contemporary context.

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Conclusion

Envisioning Real Utopias is a bold, multifaceted exploration of how society might transcend the limitations of capitalism through concrete, emancipatory institutional designs. Wright’s work challenges us to reimagine democracy and economic power by breaking down traditional binaries and embracing hybrid forms of governance. By articulating multi-pronged strategies for transformation and grounding his arguments in empirical examples—from Porto Alegre to Mondragón, and extending to today's platform cooperatives—Wright provides a roadmap for both theorists and practitioners seeking to build a more just and humane future.

Furthermore, to people working in AI/ML fields like myself, the book offers a call to leverage our tools not as instruments of control, but as means to empower communities, enhance transparency, and simulate policy outcomes. Together, these insights underscore the potential for a future where technology and democratic design converge to make real utopias not just conceivable but attainable.

[Lafargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book - very clear and honest, obviously everyone will have their quibbles and objections but an extremely valuable contribution to the debate around principles of political-economic institution design.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wright clearly distinguishes six types of democratic-socialist relations between the economy, state, and civic associations. He gives excellent descriptions of really-existing examples of each type from around the world (Mondragon, Porto Alegre, Meidner Plan, etc).

[Duncan McLaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a light read, but an illuminating exploration of the prospects for social empowerment in the modern world.

[Kevin Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed at length here https://c4ss.org/content/47250 I put it in the autonomism shelf because it's related, but EOW's not actually an autonomist.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein tolles Buch. Hoch intelligent und interessant und trotzdem verständlich und praxisorientiert.

[Gerj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is sharp in the way that a well-honed axe is. Robust, yet delicate. Forceful, but only if applied correctly. Dangerous or self-defeating if not paid attention to carefully. Wright brings exacting — and at times plodding — prose and analysis to his study of the ills of our current economic system, and imaginings of a new one.

His measured approach will no doubt frustrate many would-be revolutionaries. “Ruptural politics” has distinctive limits, he says. Indeed it seems “implausible” that they will result in the kind of social transformations that so many of his readers and allies wish to see. Wright’s wonkish (emphasis on the “ish), Fabian roots stand out here as he reviews and opines on the strategic opportunities of his three defined typologies of social transformation — ruptural, interstitial, and symbiotic. A dash more of an ‘anarchist squint’ a la James C Scott would have been at times strengthened the critical analysis of the possibilities of transformation via any of the means identified, but Wright’s general level of reflexivity remains compelling throughout.

For a book about real utopias, of course, the actual conditions and possibilities of these places still feel largely absent. His work to understand the imagined and real spaces of true democratic egalitarianism are sadly thin. A few short chapters with wonderful, thoughtful analysis (though his Wikipedia case study feels older and under-developed), give way to higher-level, theoretical explanations of /types/ of strategies, rather than strategies themselves, and while I found these descriptions enlivening and interesting, praxis feels wanting throughout.

With Wright having passed away now, this book, while magisterial in many ways, feels as through it was intended to be the jumping off point to more granular explorations. The social economy work in Quebec, for example, is fascinating and deserved almost a section in the book unto itself; ditto for Sweden.

In the end, I found Wright’s project lucid, thoughtful, and never overstated. Perhaps the largest disappointment is restraint that he shows in actually imagining these real utopias. While somewhat stilted, structurally I loved Donna Harroway’s attempt imagine in literary terms, better worlds at the end of “Staying with the Trouble,” or the fictional elements of “Economic Science Fiction.” Wright’s analysis suggests indeed a beautiful vision, one that emerges around corners and in the margins — what we’re left with are more the tools of the sculpter rather than the artwork itself. But to mix metaphors a little, he did leave us a great compass.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clear, methodical and pragmatic approach to thinking about the possibilities of deep social change, and different paths over and through the barriers and opposition to be expected. Well worth reading for leftists who want to be able to describe the change they want to see in the world and some credible thoughts on how to get there. Wright is especially good on describing in some detail real examples of people working within and around the limits of market-driven capitalism, like Quebec’s Chantier de l’economie social, the Mondragon cooperatives, and Porto Alegre’s experiments with participatory budgeting. I think he’s especially helpful in describing ways to cope with the limits of our ability to understand and predict large-scale social change (much less drive and direct it), by adopting an iterative, experimental (you might say Bayesian) approach of revising plans and correcting course as we go. He’s also good on disentangling the distinct but related dynamics of economic, social and political power.

The writing is lucid enough, but there is a bit of the academic sociologist in the structure of the chapters, which tend to bookend the discussion between the old “In this chapter we will see that…” and the equally thrilling “To summarize, in this chapter we saw…” Wright could also pursue the deep connections between racism and capitalism; those connections surface here and there, but there's not a sustained engagement with how deeply entwined the two are and how that should affect strategy.

[Ceren Hic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anybody that uses the words of capitalism, freedom, revolution, politics, system, inequality, democracy, socialism etc. For political science faculties as well as economics,governance, education. The book educates very well on capitalism and alternative institutional models to expand social and political justice. Very comprehensive book that deals with complex systems and uncertainty of unintended consequences out of which we can create and actualise real utopias. It is written very to the point but with the humble tone that we cannot know for sure. The highlight is to put it so clearly that the biggest limit to abundance is the creativity of the designer of any transformation or intervention. And we can bring about and manage sustainable transformation towards increasing social power over the state and economic power only through human will for voluntarily association and positive-sum collaboration. We need a diversity of peoples,methods and approaches for change towards conditions of human flourishing for all and political decision making power for all that is affected by that decision.
So grateful for this book, rest in peace Erik Olin Wright. Further recommended reading that combines: Surviving the Future, Systems Thinking, Theory U, One Straw Revolution, the Earth Path, Speaking Peace.

[Kurt]

Don't come to this if you're looking for something reassuring and optimistic - though Wright may not be as doomsayer-ish as certain other leftist contemporaries, many of the ideas he puts forth in this book are quickly set back on the shelf as he considers their potential disastrous downsides or barriers that prevent them from being realized. But I think when taken as the toolkit he probably intended it to be, this book is a great summary of potential alternatives to capitalism, and might even go some ways towards getting some segments of the left to realize that markets in themselves are not inherently evil things! I do wish he'd expanded on some of the points he makes more, but then again, this was only published in 2010; the discourse has moved on a lot since then, and it's impressive by that measure how much many of the ideas discussed here could still be relevant today.

[Sam Buckman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book somewhat interesting while I was reading it, but I had no desire to pick it up when I wasn't. I didn't finish it.

I recall that it had a taxonomy for societies I thought seemed useful which defined three forms of power - state power, based on rule making and enforcement; economic power, based on control of resources; and social power, based on the ability to mobilise voluntary action. The author used this taxonomy to clarify the distinction between various ways a society could be organised which are often lumped together, and to make concrete some ideas which I had previously been unable to picture.

I am curious as to where he was going with this, but currently not curious enough to try again.

[Oz Amram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite clearly written and easy to follow. Takes a very pragmatic and 'experimental' approach political change beyond capitalism. Some parts are a bit dry, as the book is trying to lay the foundation for a new tradition in socialism defines lots of things and has somewhat unnecessary diagrams. But other times the clarity is very much appreciated. I resonated strongly with a lot of its ideas about trying new social configurations, pessimism of ruptural change, and a broad vision for what social empowerment could look like.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great thought provoking read!

The author is really grounded when he discusses the possibility of a socialist utopia. It was mind opening to learn his approach, and see the feasibility of it. I absolutely recommend this read! That said, it was also a super hard read, in my opinion. I had to take notes to make sure I could keep up with the amount of information in the book. Honestly a brilliant take on ways to make life more sustainable for workers, and society as a whole also.

[Archer Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for institutions and institution-building. Wright tries to keep this book more approachable to the average reader by keeping some academic discussions to the footnotes, but it's still a dense 373 pages.

He does achieve a more approachable read in his later How to Be an Anti-capitalist in the 21st Century. Both are hopeful and helpful for imagining a possible future.

[Anarcouple]

Wright navigates a fair balance between interstitial and ruptural strategies of transformation, but I'm quite sceptical of so-called 'symbiotic' approaches of focussing on the concessions that capitalists are willing to make. Nevertheless, Wright is a step in the right direction from the classical Marxist canon, engaging more sincerely with anarchist political philosophy and praxis.

[Billy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, sober, almost programmatic analysis of the structural flaws of capitalism and the making of a potential roadmap out. Points of disagreement: yes. Extremely dry in places: yes. Nevertheless, as with most of Wright's work, sound analyses of contemporary malaise.