The fundamental purpose of the Real Utopias Project is to stimulate the building of feasible alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. This page documents some of the real-world examples of practical implementation of the ideas and ideals that animate the RUP. Of course, real-world experiments are inspired by a huge variety of different actors, ideas, and ideologies, so we are not claiming that the projects listed below here are inspired directly or solely by the Real Utopias Project (some of the examples listed predate the RUP volume). The examples are simply meant to highlight the increasing number of exciting real-world experiments that embody real utopian ideas.
The aim of this list is not to compile every single example, but only to highlight particularly important and influential ones. If you know of other such examples, please let us know by emailing Tom Malleson.
Democratizing Finance
Associations and Democracy
- Works councils in Germany (more info: 1)
- Unions in the Nordic countries (more info: 1)
- Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre (more info: 1, 2)
- Participatory Budgeting in Europe and Canada (more info: 1, 2, 3)
- Communal Councils in Venezuela (more info: 1, 2)
- Cooperative Housing in Sweden (more info: 1)
Deepening Democracy
- Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre (more info: 1, 2)
- Participatory Budgeting in Europe and Canada (more info: 1, 2, 3)
- The Icelandic Participatory Constitution (more info: 1, 2)
- Communal Councils in Venezuela (more info: 1, 2)
- Democratic Schools in Porto Alegre (more info: 1)
- Democratic Policing in Chicago (more info: 1)
- Democratic Daycare in Quebec (more info: 1, 2)
- Tenant Democracy in Denmark (more info: 1, 2)
Redesigning Distribution
- Everywhere Basic Income has been tried (more info: 1)
- Basic Income experiment in Manitoba, Canada (more info: 1, 2)
- Basic Income experiments in the US (more info: 1, 2, 3)
- Basic income experiment in India (more info: 1)
- Basic Income experiment in Kenya (more info: 1, 2)
- Bolsa Família in Brazil (more info: 1, 2)
- Alaska Permanent Fund (more info: 1, 2)
- UK Child Trust Fund (more info: 1, 2)
Gender Equality
- Good part-time work in the Netherlands (more info: 1, 2, 3)
- Good part-time work in Denmark (more info: 1, 2)
- France’s 35-hour week (more info: 1, 2)
- Short work hours in Germany (more info: 1, 2)
- Quality parental leave in Iceland and Sweden (more info: 1, 2, 3)
- Affordable daycare in Europe and Quebec (more info: 1, 2)
- Quality early childhood education in Europe (more info: 1)
Legislature by Lot
- Citizen Assemblies worldwide (more info: 1)
- British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform (more info: 1, 2)
- Irish Constitutional Convention (more info: 1)
- The Australian Citizens’ Parliament (more info: 1)
- Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform in the Netherlands (more info: 1, 2)
- A Permanent Citizens’ Assembly in Belgium (more info: 1, 2)
- Paris Permanent Citizens’ Council (more info: 1)
- The Icelandic Participatory Constitution (more info: 1, 2)
- The Climate Change Citizens Assembly in the UK (more info: 1, 2)
- UK Citizens’ Assembly on Nature (more info: 1)
- Berlin’s Climate Assembly (more info: 1)
- Citizens’ Assembly on Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina (more info: 1)
- Citizens’ Assembly Against Corruption in Montenegro (more info: 1)