Are we abandoning the terrain of hope to the enemy? Rethinking critical theory today

Professorial Inaugural Lecture given by Professor Ana C Dinerstein on 13 March 2025
Abstract: In this lecture, I contest the idea that social scientists are sad because we are too critical of the world; I suggest instead that we are sorry because we are not critical enough. I propose to learn from Ernst Bloch’s philosophy of hope, which is aligned with all kinds of movements for change, to find clues to understand the meaning of critique today. The realisation of collective dreams is already unfolding in the shadows of the present crises. With Bloch, I suggest that to be critical is to recognise that the world is open and unfinished, and a not-yet reality lurks in the present to be realised. Today, the far right is mobilising hope as myth, intoxicating millions of people. We should learn hope and articulate a critical theory of hope which unlike Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, enables us to engage with those who do not doubt that another world is possible, like many social, indigenous labour, women, LGTB+ movements and the Global Tapestry of Alternatives. They are not abandoning the terrain of hope to the enemy. But are we?