Culture(s) of Optimism

Abstract

If there is one thing that emerges clearly from the preceding chapters, it is that the institutional promotion of hope and optimism is no isolated phenomenon. We have seen it in operation in the functioning of democratic politics; within the world of work; with children and families; in the practices of religion; and in the burgeoning domain of psychotherapy. Whilst this by no means exhausts the sites on which the promotion of optimism can be observed — think, for example, of medical science, technological development or the world of sport — it still encompasses a large part of both the public and private spheres. Indeed, it begins to look like a significant, though rarely observed, cultural phenomenon (culture being understood here in its broadest sense as a cluster or set of attitudes, values and behaviours). We might even say that not only do our institutions produce myriad cultures of optimism but that collectively they also feed in to an overarching culture of optimism.