Humanitarianism : between realism and utopia

Abstract

The main claim in this article is that humanitarianism can be depicted as an attempt at establishing a realistic utopia. This is supported by a comparison between More’s Utopia and Dunant’s A Memory of Solferino. Despite the differences in style and context, both authors demonstrate a sensitive understanding of human nature and war. They both show that war should be conducted in a way that reduces suffering. Several of their ideas that seemed far-fetched at the time have entered the political mainstream. This, in turn, demonstrates that some visions of utopia can turn out to be practical. Dunant’s text illustrates this by making concrete proposals that brought about long lasting changes in the way war is carried out. Despite coming short of abolishing war, his text presents a realistic utopia that broadened ideas around what may be politically possible.