Can utopian realism constitute an antidote to today’s ‘pervasive atmosphere of capitalist realism’, as defined by the late critical theorist Mark Fisher? Through this article, a collaboration between a sociologist and a literary scholar, we argue that the answer to this question is a resounding yes. To substantiate our thesis, we conduct a ‘sociological exegesis’ of the best-selling science fiction book The Ministry for the Future written by the prolific US author Kim Stanley Robinson. The book, set in a quasi-present future, describes a multiplicity of successful transformative strategies implemented to address the ongoing climate crisis and, as the title of the novel suggests, preserve the future of human and non-human life on planet Earth. While still a fictional recount, we claim that the novel possesses a sociological quality since it showcases a unique approach to societal change that we label ‘utopian realism’. This approach combines top-down strategies with grassroots organising, technological solutions with back-to-nature projects, and ecomodernism with eco-spiritualism. We analyse the novel through the lens of contemporary sociological debates on the transformative power of utopianism as found in many science fiction books, movies and TV series. We are especially inspired by the work of Ruth Levitas, Mathias Thaler, McKenzie Wark, Lisa Garforth and Erik Olin Wright. Our conclusion is that The Ministry for the Future represents an attempt to move beyond the dystopian pervasiveness of capitalist realism and thus constitutes a much needed, albeit far from unproblematic, contribution to envisioning just and sustainable alternative futures.

中文翻译：

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资本主义现实主义已经死了。乌托邦现实主义万岁！金·斯坦利·罗宾逊的《未来部》的社会学解释


乌托邦现实主义能否成为当今已故批判理论家马克·费舍尔所定义的“资本主义现实主义普遍氛围”的解毒剂？通过这篇社会学家和文学学者合作的文章，我们认为这个问题的答案是肯定的。为了证实我们的论文，我们对美国多产作家金·斯坦利·罗宾逊（Kim Stanley Robinson）所著的畅销科幻小说《未来部》进行了“社会学解释”。这本书以准现在的未来为背景，描述了为解决持续的气候危机而实施的多种成功的变革战略，并且正如小说标题所示，保护地球上人类和非人类生命的未来。虽然仍然是虚构的叙述，但我们声称这部小说具有社会学品质，因为它展示了一种独特的社会变革方法，我们将其称为“乌托邦现实主义”。这种方法将自上而下的战略与基层组织、技术解决方案与回归自然项目、以及生态现代主义与生态精神主义相结合。我们通过当代社会学辩论的视角来分析这部小说，探讨许多科幻小说、电影和电视剧中乌托邦主义的变革力量。我们特别受到 Ruth Levitas、Mathias Thaler、McKenzie Wark、Lisa Garforth 和 Erik Olin Wright 的作品的启发。我们的结论是，未来部代表了一种超越普遍存在的资本主义现实主义反乌托邦的尝试，因此为设想公正和可持续的替代未来做出了非常必要的贡献，尽管远非没有问题。