The relevance of this article is determined by the insufficient coverage in Russian sociological publications of the phenomena of utopia/dystopia, which are largely manifested in the ideas of the country's population about the desired future. The purpose of the article is to analyze the concept of “utopia versus dystopia” as an important component of the image of the desired future. Generalization and secondary analysis of research materials published in Russian sociohumanitarian journals were used. It is shown that utopia and dystopia are two elements of a single socio-cultural system based on utopian social consciousness. The functions and types of utopias are highlighted. The importance of empirical sociological research on this topic for the purposes of social forecasting is noted.
utopia; dystopia; the image of the desired future; sociological research.