Molnár Tamás utópiakritikája mai szemmel
Thomas Molnar’s Critique of Utopias Viewed Today

Summary/Abstract: The paper gives a critical analysis of the Hungarian-born philosopher and historian Thomas Molnar’s (1921–2010) concept of utopia. Whereas most contemporary scholars of utopia probably disagree with Molnar’s wholesale rejection of utopianism as an essentially misguided concept, his arguments and subtle analyses are worth investigating. The focus is on the 1967 book by the Catholic thinker titled Utopia: The Perennial Heresy, and the paper seeks to demonstrate that – even though Molnar employs a somewhat simplified notion of utopia as a collectivist blueprint and tends to overemphasize its dangers – his critique and contextualization of philosophical and literary utopias within religious and metaphysical frameworks offer valuable insights. An interesting dialogue emerges between Molnar and the contemporary historian of ideas and scholar of utopianism Gregory Claeys, both of whom distinguish between utopia and millenarianism and recognize the dangers of political religion manifest in various forms of political thought and activism.

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