Capitalism, Form of Life, Utopia: Critical Paths in a “New Normal” World

The three concepts of capitalism, form of life, and utopia allow us to critically reflect about a pandemic world reshaped according to a “new normal” social order. Capitalism and its effects, among which it is legitimate to consider the pandemic, is the name we give to a lasting diagnosis of the present state of things and they problematically affect the destiny of humanity and society. The form of life is a fascinating but unsystematically developed notion that refers to other concepts such as society, community, practices, and daily life and recalls what is at stake in every social configuration. Lastly, utopia is a polysemic concept that can be interpreted as an impulse and a way of thinking oriented to the future, in the sign of hope, in favor of a different social organization from the existing one. As prefigured by the well-known and premonitory expression “nothing will be the same again” widespread since the early days of the pandemic, in recent times the utopian impulse has entered into a problematic relationship with the historical force of capitalism to shape and define globally new forms of social life. It is a decisive issue that concerns everyone and on which a critical reflection is urgently needed to question the false assumptions on which it is based, the undemocratic ways in which it is implemented, and the more general purpose it intends to pursue.