Looking for the blue: The necessity of utopia

This article argues that utopia is both prevalent and necessary. It begins by looking at the presence in contemporary culture of an existential quest for utopia, figured as ‘looking for the blue’. It then moves to the place of utopia in political thought and political discourse, figured as ‘looking for the green’. These approaches reveal different formulations of the concept of utopia itself. The shift requires that Utopia is understood as a method rather than a goal, and accompanied by a recognition of provisionality, responsibility and necessary failure.