Since Thomas More's first use of the word utopia in 1516 it has conjured multiple and ambiguous connotations. Utopia and its defining antithesis dystopia can be articulations of what we wish to become or to avoid becoming, an investigation of hope and the potential for transformation. Utopias can evoke dichotomies between the liberal realisation and the impossible ideal (Kumar 1991); or a contrast between the concrete and closed social plan as opposed to the impetus toward hope in the small details of various cultural contexts (Jameson 2006).
(Source : Social Alternatives : Utopias Dystopias : Alternative Visions, 2009)
(Source : Social Alternatives : Utopias Dystopias : Alternative Visions, 2009)
'Stilwell discusses the need for Social Alternatives, a journal that has been a focal point for progressive thought in Australia since its inception, to continue with analysis and debate with issues concerning peace, equity and sustainability. Concerns with these issues is obvious and ongoing as events and processes currently reshaping the world around us, making it more liable to violence, inequality, and economic and environmental crisis, require our collective attention, analysis and activism.' (Publication abstract)
'Maddox discusses various political events that took place in Australia since Social Alternatives was launched forty years ago. The very name, Social Alternatives, implies that something is wrong, that change needs to be made. The journal emerged shortly after a political crisis in 1975 that destroyed not only any sensible reading of the Australian Constitution, but also undermined people's faith in the electoral system as a means of allowing fair representation of the people's interests. The crisis put Australian society in a turmoil. It left the progressive side of politics in disarray, if not abject despair.' (Publication abstract)
'Dow commemorates the 40th anniversary of Social Alternatives by discussing his hopes and disappointments of the past forty years in terms of the politics of economic policy in Australia. He has written in the first issue of Social Alternatives, together with Jon Stanford, the economic crisis then emerging (unemployment and inflation, signaling the end of the long postwar boom) was driven more by policy mistakes, institutional belligerence and political error than by global forces over which Australia had insufficient domestic or deliberative control. Over the ensuing four decades, he haven't altered his diagnosis much; although it does need to be augmented now to reflect his realization that ideas and analyses are insufficient for policy critique.' (Introduction)
'Dow commemorates the 40th anniversary of Social Alternatives by discussing his hopes and disappointments of the past forty years in terms of the politics of economic policy in Australia. He has written in the first issue of Social Alternatives, together with Jon Stanford, the economic crisis then emerging (unemployment and inflation, signaling the end of the long postwar boom) was driven more by policy mistakes, institutional belligerence and political error than by global forces over which Australia had insufficient domestic or deliberative control. Over the ensuing four decades, he haven't altered his diagnosis much; although it does need to be augmented now to reflect his realization that ideas and analyses are insufficient for policy critique.' (Introduction)
'Maddox discusses various political events that took place in Australia since Social Alternatives was launched forty years ago. The very name, Social Alternatives, implies that something is wrong, that change needs to be made. The journal emerged shortly after a political crisis in 1975 that destroyed not only any sensible reading of the Australian Constitution, but also undermined people's faith in the electoral system as a means of allowing fair representation of the people's interests. The crisis put Australian society in a turmoil. It left the progressive side of politics in disarray, if not abject despair.' (Publication abstract)
'Stilwell discusses the need for Social Alternatives, a journal that has been a focal point for progressive thought in Australia since its inception, to continue with analysis and debate with issues concerning peace, equity and sustainability. Concerns with these issues is obvious and ongoing as events and processes currently reshaping the world around us, making it more liable to violence, inequality, and economic and environmental crisis, require our collective attention, analysis and activism.' (Publication abstract)