Based on the resolution of fundamental epistemological contradictions identified in the history of political and legal thought, a system of principles for modeling a progressive political and legal ideal is substantiated. It is shown that the principles of taking into account universal patterns and specific historical conditions, focusing on the achievable, realism (a synthesis of ideal and non-ideal theories), and a balance of personacentrism and sociocentrism can serve as objective criteria for assessing the heuristic and practical potential, that is, the productivity of political and legal doctrines. A critical analysis of the main approaches (liberal, utopian, natural law, positivist, etc.) is presented through the prism of the developed principles.