Retrotopia – review

Loredana Cernat
CSA

Zygmunt Bauman (19 november 1925- 9 january 2017) was one of the world’s most
eminent social theorists, writing on issues as diverse as modernity and the Holocaust,
postmodern consumerism and liquid modernity. The book “Retrotopia” was published shortly
after his death, in 2017. In my opinion the whole idea of the book is people looking at the past,
with a great fear of the future. While “utopia” is a perfect imaginary place that posses highly
qualities or almost perfect qualities for its citizens, retrotropia it’s re-emerging today as a vision
focused not on the future, but on the past, an abandoned and undead past.

In the introduction “The age of Nostalgia” are presented the main ideas and how present
it’s nostalgia in the world. In the 17 th century nostalgia was treated as an eminently curable
disease but in the 21 century, nostalgia, it’s named an “incurable modern condition”(Javier, s.a,
apud Bauman, 2017). The nostalgia is lightly present among us in the entire book emphasizing
the main conclusion about looking at the future with a great fear. People are often drawn to their
past in all of the domains, as Solana Javier (s.a, apud Bauman, 2017) says about politics
“european leaders continue to try to apply yesterday’s solution to today’s problems”. Bauman
incorporates many articles that helps him making a point, one of my favorites is by Peter
Drucker “a society that once and for all links individuals to social perfection is no longer on the
cards, and there is no point in expecting salvation to come from society” (Drucker, 1989, apud
Bauman, 2017).

Zygmunt Bauman talks about the gun control and gun import broadly. In the “Back to
Hobbes” he educates his readers about the evolution of gun sells actualizing that even after a
major economic collapse the world’s biggest arms companies weren’t affected. In the “Back to
Tribes” chapter he debates the concept of weapons in tribalism “the gun lovers think they are
superior to the gun haters because they love guns, and the gun haters think they are superior to
the gun lovers because they hate guns” (Rozenblit, 2008 apud Bauman, 2017) and “the purpose
of the tribe is to determinate whom to support and whom to kill” (ibidem). By that he confirms
the return to a tribal attitude and an acceptance of indifference toward inequality. The tribal
attitude it’s recognized in the political situations from nowadays.

The “Back to Inequality” chapter brings out some real present issues that are felt or seen
by nearly every single one of us. Quoting Disraeli’s book Sybil published in 1845 with the
statement: “two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as
ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones,
or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different
food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws” (Disraeli, 1845
apud Bauman, 2017). The difference between the rich and the poor is well put in evidence, not
only in the common life but politically too, as Branko Milanovic (2016 apud Bauman 2017)
recognize: “it’s a perfect storm…it’s forgotten by the Establishment in the rich countries that you
have to pay attention to the losers.’ ‘You don’t have the old-fashioned thing with only capitalists
and workers. Now the richest people have both kinds of income” (ibidem), suggesting as
Bauman conclude “that those who are less than the ‘the richest’ are doubly deprived, having less
and less of both and falling in danger of losing each” (Bauman, 2017).

In the same chapter, the author concludes our current condition with a simple questions
“are we, therefore, witnessing a revolutionary situation?” (ibidem). Our current conditions being,
as he describes, “a state of affairs in which the rulers can no longer rule in the way they did,
while the ruled no longer wish to be ruled in the way they have been” (ibidem).

I found my favorite part in the final “Epilogue: Looking Forward, For a Change” in a
quotation from a Michael Dibdin (2012, apud Bauman, 2017) novel, One grim Weltanschauung:
“There can be no true friends without true enemies. Unless we hate that we are not, we cannot
love what we are. These are the old truths we are painfully rediscovering after a century and
more of sentimental cant. Those who deny their family, their heritage, their culture, their
birthright, their very selves. They will not lightly be forgiven”.

In my conclusion, I found out that the most accessible and effortless parts to follow were
the introduction ‘The age of Nostalgia’ and the final ‘Epilogue: Looking Forward, For a
Change’, the other 4 chapters “Back to Hobbes”; “Back to Tribes”; “Back to Inequality” and
“Back to the Womb” were somehow harder to pursue because the author used and quoted many
others philosophers and writers. I would say there is not that much of Zygmunt Bauman words in
the book Retrotopia but I guess his goal was not to simply inform and understand, but to
energize and inspire as well, which he succeed.
Bibliography:

Bauman, Z. (2017) Retrotopia, The monitoring of public opinion economic&social changes. doi:
10.14515/monitoring.2018.6.22.