Utopianism and politics: Are there right-wing utopians?

Utopianism – the tendency to engage in thought about an ideal form of society – has been shown to motivate social change and collective action. Yet, we know little about where on the political spectrum utopianism is most prevalent. Here we analysed seven datasets collected in the USA and Australia between 2015 and 2023, to examine the relationship between political orientation and utopian thinking. Results showed that in the United States, utopian thinking was somewhat higher at the liberal and conservative ends of the spectrum and lower in the centre. In Australia, utopian thinking was higher on the left of politics, but a relationship similar to that in the USA appeared to be emerging over time. Our results are inconsistent with the prevalent notion that utopianism is only a left/liberal inclination. We also show evidence for changes in the utopianism-political orientation relationship over time and in response to changes in the political status quo. These findings can inform us as to where on the political spectrum motivation for societal change may come from depending upon the prevailing political landscape, how utopian visions may be implicated in the polarization or extremitization of opinion, and challenges that may be faced by those advocating social change.