Utopias and fantasies of a cosy life. From rational hedonism to generous appropriation

The article discusses the utopia of a cosy life as a response to the challenges of modernity, primarily technology and digitalization. The history of the utopia of cosiness are traced from the project of “family happiness,” or “good” life in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s novel Julia, or the New Heloise. The author shows why this project cannot be considered as utopia in the full sense of the word. Sentimentalism is being replaced by romanticism, which is not characterized by utopian thinking, since the ideal of romance is a specific inner state that cannot be described as part of the world. Romanticism sees the world of the future in the optics of science fiction, and reality — as a dystopia. The author interprets Karl Marx’s theory of alienation as a dystopia, since it is formulated in terms of affects.

Furthermore, Rachel Jaeggy’s modern theory of alienation is considered, in which political and economic issues are present as little as the romantic ideal of realizing the human essence. Jaeggy’s concept combines elements of critical theory with analytical social psychology. Its main idea is the total appropriation of the world, which the author of the article calls generous. She assumes that alienation is the absence of relationships where they should be, so its elimination comes down to building relationships with practically anything. Jaeggy leaves aside the question of what internal mechanisms should move a person to generous appropriation. The author shows that Jaeggy’s theory is neo-sentimentalist and has much in common with Rousseau’s “good” life. However, Jaeggy’s theory borrowed belief in progress from romanticism. It turns out to be a constitutive element of generous appropriation. Progress takes on the function of bare necessity, or Marx’s “non-human” force. It stands above capitalism and any other social relations. As a result, a person is relieved of responsibility for anything that goes beyond his private life. But this conclusion comes across an important feature of progress: it brings happiness to some people, using others as a resource. The utopia of a comfortable life turns out to be a call to ignore this circumstance.