An American utopia : dual power and the universal army

Fredric Jameson's path-breaking essay "An American Utopia" radically questions standard Leftist notions of an emancipated society, advocating - among other things - universal conscription as the model for the communist reorganization of society, fully acknowledging envy and resentment as the central problem of a communist society, and rejecting the dreams of overcoming the division between work and leisure. Endorsing the axiom that to change the world one should begin by changing our dreams about how we imagine an emancipated society, Jameson's text is ideally placed to trigger adebate on possible and imaginable alternatives to global capitalism. In addition to Jameson's essay, the volume brings reactions to it by philosophers, political and cultural analysts, as well as Jameson's short epilogue. Many will be appalled at what they will encounter- there will be blood. But what if one has to spill such (ideological) blood to give to the Left a new chance? Contributors include: Kim Stanley Robinson, Jodi Dean, Saroj Giri, Agon Hamza,Kojin Karatani, Frank Ruda, Alberto Toscano, Kathi Weeks, and Slavoj Zizek