Features in issue 2446

On independence

by Gandhi

In this interview, which was published in Gandhi's weekly paper Harijan on 28 July 1946, Gandhi spells out his vision of the ideal community and its relationship to the individual

Everywhere and nowhere: utopian possibilities in culture and society

by Gareth Evans

Gareth Evans explores the intersection of culture and utopian visions, offering examples and interpretations along the way. Come, see real flowers of this painful world- Basho

Nuclear utopias

by Rachel Western

The production of nuclear weapons has created plutonium and other radioactive wastes. In any future utopia these will have to be dealt with. Rachel Western argues that finding ways to cope with this legacy, with the care and respect that is needed, could be part of creating a utopia.

Martin Buber's Paths in Utopia. The Kibbutz: an experiment that didn't fail?

by Uri Davis

The first Jewish co-operative agricultural settlement was established in Palestine in 1909. The founders of what was to become the kibbutz movement believed they were laying the basis for a new society for the Jews, one based on cooperation, equality and communal living. One of the ideologues of the movement was the philosopher Martin Buber. In his book Paths in Utopia, which remains one of the most powerful critiques of authoritarian socialism, he claimed that this movement was one example of a non-authoritarian, libertarian or "utopian" socialism that had not failed. Uri Davis challenges this understanding of the kibbutz movement and draws parallels with the failure of Buber himself to live by the ethic he endorsed.

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