On Koinotopia: Reconstructing Utopia in the Age of Neo-Liberalism, Political Ecology, and Intersectionality
ISBN
978-2-36781-579-4
Type
book section
Date Issued
2026
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Feyereisen, Justine
Abstract
Utopia, as a concept, was long declared obsolete. Yet the politics and social realities of neoliberalism, alongside the theoretical interventions of political ecology and, most importantly, intersectionality, have contributed to the resurgence of utopian thinking. This resurgence, however, has entailed a significant transformation of the concept itself: utopia is no longer understood as an exclusive and prescriptive narrative of what a better future world should look like, but rather as both a descriptive method and a normative benchmark. On the one hand, it identifies what must be done for such a world to emerge; on the other, it provides the normative criteria through which we may assess whether this transformation has in fact been realized.
I call this reconceptualization of utopia koinotopia. Its distinctive valence, I argue, lies in incorporating the Other as both the condition and the vector of the subject’s constitution. Within this social-ontological framework, utopia necessarily forfeits its monistic character and must instead be reconstructed as a collective and inclusive endeavour.
In order to demonstrate this claim, I begin (under I) by outlining the challenges that neoliberalism, political ecology, and intersectionality pose to traditional utopianism before turning (under II) to the advantages of conceiving utopia as a method, drawing on Ruth Levitas’s canonical formulation of the concept. As I argue, however, Levitas ultimately fails to provide an adequate account of the constitutive role of the Other in the production of the subject. I therefore trace (under III) the conceptualization of the Other across three theories of the topical: Roland Barthes’ concept of atopos, Michel Foucault’ concept of heterotopia, and Ernst Bloch’s notion of the “Not-Yet.” After showing that Bloch’s account of the Other most adequately fulfils the demands raised by the koinotopian project, I conclude (under IV) by arguing that this socially and ontologically grounded necessity of engaging the Other is precisely what renders koinotopia a necessarily collective, plural, and inclusive project.
I call this reconceptualization of utopia koinotopia. Its distinctive valence, I argue, lies in incorporating the Other as both the condition and the vector of the subject’s constitution. Within this social-ontological framework, utopia necessarily forfeits its monistic character and must instead be reconstructed as a collective and inclusive endeavour.
In order to demonstrate this claim, I begin (under I) by outlining the challenges that neoliberalism, political ecology, and intersectionality pose to traditional utopianism before turning (under II) to the advantages of conceiving utopia as a method, drawing on Ruth Levitas’s canonical formulation of the concept. As I argue, however, Levitas ultimately fails to provide an adequate account of the constitutive role of the Other in the production of the subject. I therefore trace (under III) the conceptualization of the Other across three theories of the topical: Roland Barthes’ concept of atopos, Michel Foucault’ concept of heterotopia, and Ernst Bloch’s notion of the “Not-Yet.” After showing that Bloch’s account of the Other most adequately fulfils the demands raised by the koinotopian project, I conclude (under IV) by arguing that this socially and ontologically grounded necessity of engaging the Other is precisely what renders koinotopia a necessarily collective, plural, and inclusive project.
Language
English
Keywords
Utopian Studies
Koinotopia
Liberalism
Political Ecology
Intersectionality
Social Philosophy
Political Philosophy
Social and Political Philosophy
Political Theory
Collective Agency
Ruth Levitas
Ernst Bloch
Roland Barthes
Michel Foucault
Theodor W. Adorno
Ecotone
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
Aller au début de la gallerie d'image Utopia, Migration, Ecotone
Publisher
Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée
Publisher place
Montpellier
Start page
73
End page
109
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
open.access
Name
Telios_On Koinotopia_Reconstructing Utopia_In_Utopia_Migration_Ecotone_ed_Justine_Feyereisen_73_108_2026.pdf
Size
964.48 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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