Thinking Utopia with Gilles Deleuze. Memory and Imagination in the Era of Capitalist Acceleration

Abstract

The present article explores the distinction between utopias of immanence and transcendence in Gilles Deleuze's thought, analyzing their relationship with temporality and the dynamics of late modern capitalism. Through an analysis of Deleuze's concept of temporality, influenced by Bergson and Nietzsche, it examines how contemporary capitalist acceleration favors transcendental utopias, linking them to the rise of new authoritarianisms. The study highlights the importance of ontological memory and imagination in constructing a temporality open to the future, capable of resisting capitalist exploitation of time. Acceleration, which pathologizes life by preventing the creation of meaning, underscores the need to reconsider immanent utopias as forms of resistance against temporal stagnation and authoritarian folly.