Utopia and politics: Cognitive and practical relationships.

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between utopia and politics within political theory, based on the premise that in political science being and ought to be are inseparably linked, as are theory and practice. The author argues that political reality is in constant transformation; therefore, political knowledge cannot be reduced to empirical description, but must also include a projection toward the future, often expressed in utopian terms. Drawing on the tradition of political thought—from Aristotle to modern theorists such as Mannheim, Gramsci, and Zemelman—the study analyzes the cognitive and practical functions of utopia in political action. The article explores the main orientations of modern utopian discourse, particularly liberal and socialist utopias, showing how both seek to guide social transformation within specific historical contexts. In the framework of globalization and contemporary political change, utopia is understood not as an unrealistic fantasy, but as a critical horizon that reveals potential paths for transformation embedded in present reality. The article concludes that utopia plays a central role in political knowledge and praxis by orienting collective action and the construction of alternative historical projects.