The Case for Utopia: History and the Possible Meanings of Brexit a Hundred Years On
Publication Date
2017
Abstract
How likely are utopian futures of the kind that Jeremy Corbyn has recently envisioned for the future of post-Brexit Britain? Such utopian scheming to restore the welfare state at the cost of the state gibes with the forecast of austerity from the Chancellor’s office, and pronouncements from canny observers that a post-EU Britain will need cash to support even its current programs, and therefore be forced to come to terms with the demands of banks and corporations. Corbyn’s utopianism is ridiculous unless we take into account long-term forces like the rebellion against expert rule and advocacy of democratic accountability by participatory movements. A deeper history of state, democracy, and expert rule in Brexit can highlight the underlying tensions and point to some sources of possible outcomes.
Document Type
Article
Keywords
brexit, Britain, history, political science, utopia, the future
DOI
10.1080/14747731.2016.1228782
Source
Globalizations
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Guldi, Jo, "The Case for Utopia: History and the Possible Meanings of Brexit a Hundred Years On" (2017). History Faculty Publications. 15.
https://scholar.smu.edu/hum_sci_history_research/15
