The Real Utopias Project embraces a tension between dreams and practice. It is founded on the belief that what is pragmatically possible is not fixed independently of our imaginations, but is itself shaped by our vision. The fulfillment of such a belief involves “real utopias“: utopian ideals that are grounded in the real potentials for redesigning social institutions.

In its attempt at sustaining and deepening serious discussion of radical alternatives to existing social practices, the Real Utopias Project examines various basic institutions and focuses on specific proposals for their fundamental redesign.

The books in the series, edited and introduced by Erik Olin Wright, are the result of workshop conferences, at which groups of scholars are invited to respond to provocative manuscripts. The lead essay in each volume lays out the underlying logic of the proposal and is followed by the responses from critics and supporters.

Volume 1 Associations and Democracy
Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers, editors
Volume 2 Equal Shares: Making Market Socialism Work
John E. Roemer, editor
Volume 3 Recasting Egalitarianism: New Rules for Communities, States and Markets
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, editors
Volume 4 Deepening Democracy: Institutional Innovations in Empowered Participatory Governance
Archon Fung and Erik Olin Wright, editors
Volume 5 Redesigning Distribution: Basic Income and Stakeholder Grants as Cornerstones for an Egalitarian Capitalism
Bruce Ackerman, Anne Alstott, and Philippe Van Parijs
Volume 6 Gender Inequality
Erik Olin Wright, editor