Expanding the Horizon of Possibility: How Utopian and Dystopian Thinking Fuel Discourses of Transformation

The climate crisis requires urgent societal transformation, yet dominant discourses of climate delay hinder effective action by portraying systemic change as unfeasible or unnecessary. Drawing on discourse theory, we propose a novel theoretical account centered on collective prospection —the shared ability to imagine possible societal futures. We posit that societal crises create a window for change by eroding the legitimacy of the status quo and traditional discourses. Adopting a psychological interindividual-differences perspective, we argue that dystopian thinking and utopian thinking are two psychological processes jointly contributing to societal change motivation. We describe three elements of dystopian thinking (dystopian hopelessness, dystopian worries, apocalyptic wish). Dystopian thinking may express people’s worries about undesirable futures and wishes for a new societal beginning possibly inducing deconstructive processes in people regarding their internalized status quo beliefs. In turn, utopian thinking serves a reconstructive function, viewing societal crises as a window of opportunity to re-negotiate societal rules and build collective hope for a positive future alternative. These processes may synergistically fuel discourses of transformation – a conceptual counterpart challenging climate delay discourses and expanding our collective imagination towards the possibility of reaching a social-ecologically just future. We propose five recommendations for future research on collective prospection.