Utopia as critical practice in the transformation of William Morris
Date
1995
Authors
Lee, John Anthony
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
William Morris's approach to politics has been regularly ignored or devalued. His political thought has been judged on its perceived associations to a utopian form that is customarily characterized in a negative way. However, Morris dismissed the conventional form of the utopian novel and his own fiction is of a different character. A close examination of News From Nowhere and A Dream of John Ball, in conjunction with specific lectures, essays and correspondence, reveals the weakness of rejecting Morris as a 'mere utopian'. His own utopias educate a desire for transformation, but rather than demanding specific reforms or dictating the perfect social plan, he encouraged individuals to think and act for themselves in creating the terms of revolution. Morris's approach resonates with later 'critical utopians' and the type of personal politics he promoted and exemplified has become relevant in recent debates on the general nature of oppositional politics.