Abstract
Utopianism embodies the pursuit of an ideal society in which socio-political conditions are perfected. The concept is rooted in classical philosophies and visionary literary fiction across the world, serving as a tool of critique on existing societal structures and a vision for overcoming human suffering. Throughout history, utopian thought has inspired diverse transformative social movements with common themes of revolutionary political change, the affirmation of social bonds and the attainment of economic equality. Earlier utopian thought typically revolved around blueprints of future societies but has since been surpassed by processual and open-ended thinking. Utopianism has often been challenged on practical grounds as being disarticulated from reality and on the danger of leading to totality. Nevertheless, utopianism remains a powerful approach for rethinking world order, encouraging critical thinking about the possibility for change and fuelling the imagination of innovative political ideas for global equity and justice.