Primer on Utopian Philosophy, A
by Jonathan Greenaway

How Ernst Bloch's work can provide new hope for utopian thinking today.

The utopian project lies in ruins, but perhaps in our present moment, there are elements from the history of thought that can provide fresh resources for utopianism. In this groundbreaking introduction, Jon Greenaway explores the work of German philosopher Ernst Bloch, whose complex and challenging philosophy is a primer for a philosophical renewal of the struggle for a better world.

Reviews:
A timely introduction to Bloch and his tireless intellectual labours in the name of hope. Greenaway reminds us of the true political stakes of the utopian dream: though it wanders in other worlds and other times, it must be realised only here and now. ~ Gregory Marks, writer at The Wasted World

The driving force behind Greenaway’s exegesis of Ernst Bloch’s work is the much-needed task of rediscovering hope - not in the form of naive optimism or passive wishful thinking, but in the struggle to find the seeds of utopia in everyday life, to see in the quotidian the 'unbearable nearness of utopia.' ~ Jonas Čeika, author of How to Philosophize with a Hammer and Sickle

An important intellectual history of hope’s chief philosopher, Greenaway’s book reanimates one of European Marxism’s most elusive figures, with a clarity and urgency fitting of the challenges presented by Bloch’s great utopian gamble. A welcome and necessary contribution from a rising voice on the Left. ~ Kyle Kern, historian & YouTuber

Ernst Bloch has been a relatively minor figure within the intellectual history of the Left, until recently. As interest in his work grows, I can think of no better introduction to his work than this book — a super accessible and invigorating read! ~ Matt Colquhoun, author of Narcissus In Bloom

Jon Greenaway shows us that the world is infinitely full of hope, and yes, for us too. Bloch is revealed to us as the romantic materialist who is only too ripe for a full-on revival for the Left today. A thinker who teaches us to embrace the rupture of utopia as the rupture hidden within all previous history, the Old Man with the Raised Fist still has much to teach us! ~ Adam C. Jones, Acid Horizon

'There is an infinite amount of hope in the universe,' someone once said, 'but not for us.' And yet, in an age of economic crisis, ecological catastrophe, and social declension, hope can be nothing less than a revolutionary imperative; it is the name for our collective desire that life might be lived together and otherwise. What this book shows, with an erudition born of love and fury, is that hope might yet be the fire with which we blaze the path to utopia, incinerating this terrible universe along the way. ~ Mark Steven, author of Class War: A Literary History

The philosophy of Ernst Bloch has shaped generations of Marxist philosophers, from Theodor Adorno and Gyorg Lukács to Fredric Jameson, but rarely is Bloch assessed on his own terms in the full range and depth of his thought. Jon Greenaway has managed to bring the fullness of Bloch's concepts into the urgent light of our present, from his theory of fascism, consciousness, revolution, class struggle, and religion to the nature of reality itself. Greenaway's book is an inspired and beautifully written introduction to the revolutionary thought of Ernst Bloch. ~ Daniel Tutt, author of How to Read Like a Parasite: Why the Left Got High on Nietzsche