Voyage to Utopias: A Fictional Guide Through Social Philosophy

Zadie thinks she's the last sane person in the world. And perhaps she is. Her brother won't stop texting. Her grandfather, Cramps, whispers to the music box (located on a top shelf, near the corpse of a sticky bun abandoned in 1986).

Why can't people be more like her? Oh, and it turns out the music box is really stroppy....

Then, Cramps takes them on a journey into time and space that neither will ever forget (despite years of expensive therapy afterwards). A journey where alien worlds - alien versions of our world - are constructed from ideologies of social philosophy, political theory, social policy and holographic apples.

This fascinating fictional account will introduce you to key ideas in social and political philosophy. It will provide you with the key skills of philosophical investigation in an accessible, rigorous and light-hearted way. The novel is funny, informative and entertaining, allowing you to experience often complex ideas from the `inside' by using skills you will have acquired, unconsciously, from films, TV series and novels. You will learn about freedom, responsibility, justice and fairness and see how these are played out in the different utopian futures of a range of socio-political regimes.

This book is accompanied by a dedicated companion website containing many ressources for students and lecturer's manual, discussion topics, further reading, student revision questions and a glossary, visit The Policy Press website at: www.policypress.co.uk/resources/fitzpatrick

`Fitzpatrick's Voyage to Utopias is for social policy what Gaarder's Sophie's World was for philosophy (but it's loads more fun): an outrageous novel to introduce young people to alternative ideologies of welfare.' Hartley Dean, Reader in Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science

`Great material for university students. it is an exciting yet educational jouney.' Sini Wiren, journalism and political science student

`Voyage to Utopias is unique in that it uses well-written fiction to illustrate what the outcome might be if certain social theories were given whole worlds in which to practise, ranging from flawed paradises to sinister dystopras. Perfect for students.' Ben Farmer, creative writing student

Tony Fitzpatrick is a reader at the University of Nottingham. His recent publications include Applied Etahics and Social Problems (2008). He is the co-editaor of the journal Policy & Politics and was the principal editor of the three-volume international Encyclopaedia of Social Policy (2006)