Growing inequality, ecological destruction, and political shifts toward autocracy suggest a bleak picture of the world. Critical scholars have long had a role in documenting and articulating resistance to these trends. In this presentation, I argue that while resistance is important, it is insufficient without clarity of vision of the future we aspire to.

That the current direction of global affairs is leading us to multiple disasters is difficult to refute; as agentic beings we are all called upon to individually and collectively resist. However, simply resisting does not give us guidance as to what we should be aiming for in our efforts. There is no self-evident, consensual vision for a perfect world. What kind of political and economic systems would provide the kind of justice that is currently lacking for so many? What social and cultural fabric would enable healthy and expansive lives that are currently denied to so many? What institutional and psychological foundations would ensure that we live in harmony with our ecological environments for generations to come, and not teetering at the edge of planetary destruction? After we have resisted successfully, what visions of the world will guide us as we clean up the mess that the current insanities have left for us.

Theoretical psychologists can play an important role in contributing to aspirational visions of the worlds we want to live in and create, and that we need to survive as a species. Because the future is unwritten, it is up to us to create the building blocks (psychological, social, cultural, institutional, and ecological) that will make up the foundations of the future world we move toward. Because no one has a god’s eye point of view from which to assert the superiority of their vision over others, our approach has to be situated, humble, and open to dialogue. We need to learn from each other to build our visions collectively, even when – and especially when – we disagree with each other.

I argue that developing visions for worlds we can aspire to requires us to attend to three domains, which I call 1) epistemological/ontological, 2) ethical, and 3) aesthetic. I explore each of these domains in turn, and discuss some of the contributions theoretical psychologists might bring into larger conversations to guide our aspirations.