The possibility of another island : utopian discourse in the age of dystopia

Abstract

More than 500 years after the publication of Utopia, the idea of islands with a different kind of society has taken a dystopian turn. Whereas Thomas More’s book can be interpreted as a reaction to the enclosure and the birth of early capitalism, in the contemporary framework utopian thinking is marginalised despite the shortcomings of the current political and economic arrangements. As the example of Nauru demonstrates, the neoliberal exploitation of resources—whether through the exploitation of the soil, offshore banking or the offshore processing of refugees—might altogether lead to evanescence. This article attempts to demonstrate that the current dystopianism, as also exemplified by Michel Houellebecq’s novel The Possibility of an Island, is not counterbalanced by a utopianism that is not merely contemplative or an ou-topianism that fosters fatalism. Melville’s Bartleby, as interpreted by Agamben, is still an influential image of resistance—but his passive attitude to potentiality can be contrasted with the energy of utopian socialists such as Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin, who established intentional communities in the 19th century. In light of the Naurusation of the possibility of another island, the question is whether the “There is No Alternative” doctrine has to be reassessed in the context of eu-topian approaches, with utopian mental images and a concrete idea of political agency.