.
First lets dispense with the title, "Utopistics." It refers to envisioning and striving for a realizable future, short of utopia. The global justice movement is occasionally criticized for focusing on what's wrong with the present system, and failing to offer tangible alternatives. Justified or not, utopics is about offering an alternative, workable vision. It is also about planning for that crisis organizing opportunity, which may come only once in a lifetime.



Wallerstein's book begins with a concise history of capitalism, and argues that this economic system is on its way out in 25-50 years. He predicts that things are going to get ugly during the transition, and judging from how ugly things are currently, one might argue that we're in that transition now. He points out that periods of transition, or crisis, are periods of opportunity. Enter the concept of "crisis organizing." The documentary "The Take," provides a tangible example of crisis organizing; Argentinian workers took over idle factorys after the 2001 financial collapse, and began to strive for deeper social change.
See IMC Review of "The Take"

Wallerstein reasons that the collapse of the capitalist system "...will also be a period in which the 'free will' factor will be at its maximum, meaning that individual and collective action can have a greater impact on the future structuring of the world than such action can have in more 'normal' times, that is, during the ongoing life of an historical system." He contends that "The world of 2050 will be what we make it. This leaves full rein for our agency, for our commitment, and for our moral judgment. It also means that this period will be a time of terrible struggle, because the stakes are much higher than they are in so-called normal times.”
The Econ 101 series reasons that the potential for success in such a transition will be greatly enhanced if we prepare in advance. In the case of Argentina, had the workers seen the financial crisis coming, and organized in advance, they might have made greater gains. Future Econ 101 articles will make the case that such an opportunity might be pending.

NOTES:

Wallerstein is an internationally recognized academic who advanced world systems theory. For an appreciation of his rigor, you might check out a "Summary of Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World Economy in the Sixteenth Century" (New York: Academic Press, 1974) LINK to the Summary

Immanuel Wallerstein, UTOPISTICS. New York: The New Press, 1998

Published in The World Futures Studies Federation Newsletter, 1999

Reviews of Utopistics:

Review by Jim Dator
www.futures.hawaii.edu/dator/reviews/utopistics.html

Boggs Center review
www.boggscenter.org/theworld.htm