Imagination as political category

an inquiry drawing from Roberto Mangabeira Unger’s The Self Awakened

Abstract

The concept of imagination has not figured as a primary category in political theory, where terms such as “power”, “freedom”, “justice”, and even “rights” usually receive most of our efforts and attention. A notable exception, though far from unique, is the importance attributed to this concept by the jurist and philosopher Roberto Mangabeira Unger. This article discusses the uses of the idea of imagination in Unger’s work, especially in The Self Awakened, book where the author explores his idea of “unbounded pragmatism”, highlighting the consequences of employing the idea of imagination for political theorizing, as well as the limits and possible criticisms of the author, such as the voluntarism of his theory and his negligence of the established power relations in society.