Is state-centered inculcation of virtue utopian in nature? Thoughts on George Klosko's Jacobins and Utopians

Author: Stow Simon

Source: Contemporary Justice Review, Volume 8, Number 1, March 2005 , pp. 121-125(5)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Staking out new territory in utopian thought and analysis, George Klosko's Jacobins and Utopians examines neither utopian theory nor the actual practice of political reform but what might rather be termed the "theory of practice." Despite this innovation, the book remains underdeveloped, relying on some weak arguments and unexamined assumptions to support its central claim: that persuasion models of political reform are ineffective and that only state-centered inculcation of virtue in the citizenry--which Klosko labels "educational realism"--is sufficient for radical change. By failing to consider the performative and the possibility that theory might be a form of practice, Klosko misrepresents the effectiveness of persuasion models in order to champion his preferred alternative. Nevertheless, the book offers much that is of value beyond its initial distinction: there are fascinating accounts of major, and not-so-major, figures in the Jacobin and utopian traditions.

Keywords: Klosko; Jacobin; Utopian; Educational Realism; Persuasion; Plato

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10282580500044176

Publication date: 2005-03-01

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