#pessimism — Public Fediverse posts

@InsurgoFormica
Inequality and Inequity both have sharply increased the gulf between the wealthy and the rest of us. This is especially so since the mid-70s and the crazy notion that markets self-regulate and wealth trickles down from the top (how did we ever get hoodwinked into believing this shit?)

Now, the whole economic edifice is shaking from its foundations and the #oligarchy is lost to the rest of humanity (just as scrooge was to his family). You all know what comes next don’t you…? Scrooge was ‘saved’ but that’s fairy tale stuff, our reality is much less forgiving.

#Pessimism #Realism

/time_to_change_subject_I_am_leaving_the_Keyboard_for_a_while/

@InsurgoFormica
Inequality and Inequity both have sharply increased the gulf between the wealthy and the rest of us. This is especially so since the mid-70s and the crazy notion that markets self-regulate and wealth trickles down from the top (how did we ever get hoodwinked into believing this shit?)

Now, the whole economic edifice is shaking from its foundations and the #oligarchy is lost to the rest of humanity (just as scrooge was to his family). You all know what comes next don’t you…? Scrooge was ‘saved’ but that’s fairy tale stuff, our reality is much less forgiving.

#Pessimism #Realism

/time_to_change_subject_I_am_leaving_the_Keyboard_for_a_while/

@InsurgoFormica
Inequality and Inequity both have sharply increased the gulf between the wealthy and the rest of us. This is especially so since the mid-70s and the crazy notion that markets self-regulate and wealth trickles down from the top (how did we ever get hoodwinked into believing this shit?)

Now, the whole economic edifice is shaking from its foundations and the #oligarchy is lost to the rest of humanity (just as scrooge was to his family). You all know what comes next don’t you…? Scrooge was ‘saved’ but that’s fairy tale stuff, our reality is much less forgiving.

#Pessimism #Realism

/time_to_change_subject_I_am_leaving_the_Keyboard_for_a_while/

@InsurgoFormica
Inequality and Inequity both have sharply increased the gulf between the wealthy and the rest of us. This is especially so since the mid-70s and the crazy notion that markets self-regulate and wealth trickles down from the top (how did we ever get hoodwinked into believing this shit?)

Now, the whole economic edifice is shaking from its foundations and the #oligarchy is lost to the rest of humanity (just as scrooge was to his family). You all know what comes next don’t you…? Scrooge was ‘saved’ but that’s fairy tale stuff, our reality is much less forgiving.

#Pessimism #Realism

/time_to_change_subject_I_am_leaving_the_Keyboard_for_a_while/

@InsurgoFormica
Inequality and Inequity both have sharply increased the gulf between the wealthy and the rest of us. This is especially so since the mid-70s and the crazy notion that markets self-regulate and wealth trickles down from the top (how did we ever get hoodwinked into believing this shit?)

Now, the whole economic edifice is shaking from its foundations and the #oligarchy is lost to the rest of humanity (just as scrooge was to his family). You all know what comes next don’t you…? Scrooge was ‘saved’ but that’s fairy tale stuff, our reality is much less forgiving.

#Pessimism #Realism

/time_to_change_subject_I_am_leaving_the_Keyboard_for_a_while/

*the doomsday logic was always internally consistent. The world just did not cooperate.*

What happened was after a pessimistic assessment of a situation was made somebody decided to take action to produce a potentially positive outcome. The invisible hand of a market didn’t just make things magically better. Action of some kind is absolutely necessary. And that action is often spurred on by creating actionable urgency.

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/optimism-is-not-a-personality-flaw/

#joanwestenberg #optimism #pessimism #uspol

A quotation from Shakespeare

QUEEN: Uncle, for God’s sake speak comfortable words.
YORK: Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts.
   Comfort’s in heaven, and we are on the Earth,
   Where nothing lives but crosses, cares, and grief.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Richard II, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 82ff (2.2.82-83) (1595)

More about this quote: wist.info/shakespeare-william/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #shakespeare #williamshakespeare #richardii #pessimism #burden #cares #comfort #grief #hope #humancondition #life #misery #world

@epochemagazine A nice article! Just happened to read Kirk Lougheed's (not so good) IEP-entry on Anti-Natalism, https://iep.utm.edu/anti-natalism/

#life #birth #procreation #realism #pessimism #antinatalism #depression #population #society #philosophy #psychology #reasoning #thinking

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
-- William Arthur Ward

⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #WilliamArthurWard #Optimism #Pessimism #Reality

⬇ #Photography #Panorama #MotorMill #Iowa

A quotation from Douglas Adams

MARVIN: The first ten million years were the worst. And the second ten million, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Phase 1, “Fit the 5th” (BBC Radio) (1978-04-05)

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-douglas/35056/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #douglasadams #hitchhikersguide #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy #marvintheparanoidandroid #badtimes #complaint #depression #hyperbole #marchoftime #passageoftime #pessimism #waiting #worst

A quotation from Douglas Adams

MARVIN: The first ten million years were the worst. And the second ten million, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Phase 1, “Fit the 5th” (BBC Radio) (1978-04-05)

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-douglas/35056/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #douglasadams #hitchhikersguide #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy #marvintheparanoidandroid #badtimes #complaint #depression #hyperbole #marchoftime #passageoftime #pessimism #waiting #worst

A quotation from Douglas Adams

MARVIN: The first ten million years were the worst. And the second ten million, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Phase 1, “Fit the 5th” (BBC Radio) (1978-04-05)

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-douglas/35056/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #douglasadams #hitchhikersguide #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy #marvintheparanoidandroid #badtimes #complaint #depression #hyperbole #marchoftime #passageoftime #pessimism #waiting #worst

A quotation from Douglas Adams

MARVIN: The first ten million years were the worst. And the second ten million, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Phase 1, “Fit the 5th” (BBC Radio) (1978-04-05)

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-douglas/35056/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #douglasadams #hitchhikersguide #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy #marvintheparanoidandroid #badtimes #complaint #depression #hyperbole #marchoftime #passageoftime #pessimism #waiting #worst

Pessimism and impatience is a bad combination. Your motivation is to avoid negative outcomes but you can’t take time to prepare anything solid to ensure you avoid negative outcomes so you end up failing and realising the negative outcome you so feared in the first place.
#pessimism

Die nächste Generation und Pessimismus für immer? (Statista + Kommentar) #Pessimism #Optimism #Future #Europe #USA #ClimateChange #War #Crisis #Economy #Society #Democracy #Pessimismus #NextGeneration #Generationen #Wohlstand #Ungleichheit #Demokratie

https://derwahlberliner.com/2026/01/22/die-nachste-generation-und-pessimismus-fur-immer-statista-kommentar/

This cracks me up:

ANTI
NATALISTS
Why do
they keep
getting born?

The guy has a knack for sarcasm and irony.

https://triapul.cz/_/1764502681

#antinatalism #efilism #funhole #pessimism #philosophicalpessimism #philosophy #triapul #unix_surrealism

#Pessimism gets a bad rep everywhere, unjustly so.

Our (western) society has this immediate reaction to counter any signs or mentions of pessimism. I notice it everywhere. Both within capitalist society at large, as within leftist activist spheres.

While I agree that defeatism, cynicism or apathy are bad, pessimism doesn't necessarily imply those.

On the contrary, I think it's healthy to be more skeptical about #optimism Not because it's a priori bad, but because of how it functions as a vehicle of #consumerism and naive hopefulness that immobilises and, worse, makes one unprepared for setbacks.

I'm trying, for myself, to build a kind of mental resilience without hope and warranted pessimism, not to discourage people, but to show that it's possible. To have something to hold on to beyond defeat and without the certainty of a bright(er) future like in past generations.

Pessimism says the world is generally bad and getting worse.
It's cynical.
Optimism says the world is generally good and getting better.
It's naive.

Hope says "I choose to believe that things will get better even when the current circumstances are that they're getting worse."

Hope is neither cynical nor naive. We dare to hope because we have seen something greater and we anticipate its fulfillment.

#hope #advent #optimism #pessimism

#DeepSeek, a #ChineseAI developer, made its first public appearance since its global success in January. Senior researcher #ChenDeli expressed #pessimism about #AI’s long-term impact on #humanity, warning of potential #joblosses and #societalchallenges as AI becomes more capable. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/deepseek-researcher-pessimistic-over-ais-impact-startups-first-public-appearance-2025-11-07/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#CNN: Pardoned Capitol rioter arrested on charge that he threatened to kill Hakeem Jeffries

Nothing another pardon can't fix. 🫤

https://us.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/pardoned-capitol-rioter-arrested-hakeem-jeffries-threat

#news #uspol #USA #lawAndOrder #pardons #pessimism

A quotation from A. A. Milne

   “Good morning, Eeyore,” said Pooh.
   “Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,” said he.

A. A. Milne (1882-1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 6 “Eeyore Has a Birthday” (1926)

More info about this quote: wist.info/milne-a-a/2850/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #aamilne #pooh #poohbear #winniethepooh #eeyore #attitude #depression #gloom #goodmorning #greeting #negativity #pessimism #pleasantry

A quotation from A. A. Milne

   “Good morning, Eeyore,” said Pooh.
   “Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,” said he.

A. A. Milne (1882-1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 6 “Eeyore Has a Birthday” (1926)

More info about this quote: wist.info/milne-a-a/2850/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #aamilne #pooh #poohbear #winniethepooh #eeyore #attitude #depression #gloom #goodmorning #greeting #negativity #pessimism #pleasantry

Dogmatiikan professori Olli-Pekka Vainio kirjoittaa Areiopagilla pessimismistä, https://www.areiopagi.fi/2025/10/miksi-pessimismi-on-viisas-kaunis-ja-onnellisuutta-lisaava-elamanfilosofia/

Väärinkäsitysten oikomisen ja joidenkin määrittelyjen kautta päädytään siihen, että "pessimismi onkin mitä hienoin, fiksuin ja kaunein elämänfilosofia, joka ei johda ankeaan synkistelyyn, vaan hyvyyden, kauneuden ja totuuden varjelemiseen". Maltillisen pessimistisen asenteen omaksumiseen löytyy niin käytännöllisiä, poliittisia, psykologisia, episteemisiä kuin esteettisiäkin perusteita. Optimismi pikemmin osoittautuu ongelmaksi.

#pessimismi #pessimism #optimismi #optimism #nihilism #hope #toivo #life #filosofia #philosophy #areiopagi #stubb #fatalism #skepticism #despair #epatoivo #positive

BBC: China launches campaign to keep killjoys off the internet. “This week, China’s Cyberspace Administration launched a two-month campaign to curb social media posts that ‘excessively exaggerate negative and pessimistic sentiments’. The goal, according to authorities, is to ‘rectify negative emotions’ and ‘create a more civilised and rational online environment’.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/28/bbc-china-launches-campaign-to-keep-killjoys-off-the-internet/

The optimist says the glass is half-full.

The pessimist says the glass is half-empty.

The engineer says the glass is sub-optimally specified for the application.

(An oldie-but-a-goodie that not everyone has heard...)

#optimist #pessimist #engineer #optimism #pessimism #joke

A quotation from Victor Hugo

Will there be a future? We feel we might almost ask ourselves this question when we see so much terrible darkness. Grim confrontation between the selfish and the wretched. In the selfish, prejudices, the ignorance of a superior education, appetite fed by overindulgence, the insensitivity of an indurating prosperity, fear of suffering that in some extends to an aversion to those who suffer, relentless complacency, an ego so inflated it denies access to the soul. In the wretched, greed, envy, a hatred of seeing others enjoying themselves, the convulsions of the human beast within them seeking satisfaction, hearts befogged, sadness, need, fatalism, ignorance impure and simple.
 
[L’avenir arrivera-t-il ? il semble qu’on peut presque se faire cette question quand on voit tant d’ombre terrible. Sombre face-à-face des égoïstes et des misérables. Chez les égoïstes, les préjugés, les ténèbres de l’éducation riche, l’appétit croissant par l’enivrement, un étourdissement de prospérité qui assourdit, la crainte de souffrir qui, dans quelques-uns, va jusqu’à l’aversion des souffrants, une satisfaction implacable, le moi si enflé qu’il ferme l’âme ; chez les misérables, la convoitise, l’envie, la haine de voir les autres jouir, les profondes secousses de la bête humaine vers les assouvissements, les cœurs pleins de brume, la tristesse, le besoin, la fatalité, l’ignorance impure et simple.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 4 “St. Denis,” Book 7 “Argot,” ch. 4 (4.7.4) (1862) [tr. Donougher (2013)]

More info about this quote: wist.info/hugo-victor/79202/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #victorhugo #lesmiserables #lesmiz #classwarfare #conflict #confrontation #economicinjustice #future #misery #pessimism #poor #poverty #selfishness #wealthy

A quotation from Euripides

CHORUS:                     But why
Be sure of the worst, and weep too soon?
 
[ΧΟΡΟΣ: μὴ πρόμαντις ἀλγέων
προλάμβαν᾽, ὦ φίλα, γόους.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Helen [Ἑλένη], l. 338ff (412 BC) [tr. Vellacott (1954)]

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/78984/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #anticipation #catastrophize #confirmation #expectation #grief #lamentation #pessimism #sorrow #verification #woe

The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It's simply larger than it needs to be.
-- Grace Hopper

⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #GraceHopper #Optimism #OrthogonalThinking #Pessimism

⬇ #Photography #Panorama #Sealions #Beach #Galapagos

Renowned for his #pessimism, Arthur Schopenhauer was nonetheless a conoisseur of very distinctive kinds of happiness.

https://aeon.co/essays/for-schopenhauer-happiness-is-a-state-of-semi-satisfaction

#philosophy #schopenhauer #happiness

A quotation from Mel Brooks

Hope for the best.
   Expect the worst.
The world’s a stage.
   We’re unrehearsed.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
The Twelve Chairs, “Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst” (1970)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/brooks-mel/34550/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #melbrooks #hope #life #meaningoflife #meme #optimism #pessimism #pragmatism #preparation #rehearsal #stage #theater #uncertainty

#meme #existence #nihilism #pessimism

"The Zionist produces and defines itself through the animalization of the Palestinian."

"Palestinian liberation is an impossibility in the current ordering of knowledge and being, similarly demanding through its realization the end of […] this world, and modernity."

This paper "posits that Palestinian freedom necessitates the creation of new worlds and [the getting rid of encumbering] constructs such as modernity and the Human."

https://fallingintoincandescence.com/2025/05/18/afropessimism-and-palestinian-liberation-an-essay/ by Scott Campbell @susurros

@philosophy 🧶

#pessimism #epistemology #grievability #othering #modernity #whiteness #whiteFragility #whiteSupremacy #quotes #PalestinianLivesMatter #Zionism #intellectualHistory #colonialism #genocide #ongoingNakba #brutalization #philosophy #europe #europeIsrael #coloniality #proZionism #StandWithIsrael #SylviaWynter #praxis #raceMaking #entanglement

Everyone we meet brightens our day.

Some when they arrive, others when they leave.

#optimist #pessimist #philosophy #people #misanthrope #misanthopy #optimism #pessimism

innocence (n.) : a state of permanent optimism, such as believing that when UPS says a package will be delivered between 8am and noon, it will actually be delivered that day, or that when a company announces a change "to serve you better", that they actually intend to try to serve you better.

#innocence #naive #optimism #pessimism #optimist #pessimist #cynical #cynicism #cynic

A quotation from Shakespeare

KING: I am wrapp’d in dismal thinkings.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 5, sc. 3, ll. 147ff (5.3.147) (1602?)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/shakespeare-william/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #Shakespeare #depressed #depression #dismal #pessimism #pessimist #thinking #thoughts #unhappiness

Toxic Positivity - While pessimism and negativity are frowned upon, too much positivity can be just as bad. #toxicpositivity #pessimism #negativity #life #relationships

A quotation from Zinn

   An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
   And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) American historian, academic, author, social activist
Essay (2004-09-02), “The Optimism of Uncertainty,” The Nation

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/zinn-howard/35668/

#quote #quotes #quotation #action #badpeople #endeavor #future #goodandevil #goodpeople #history #hope #humancondition #humanrights #humanity #inaction #inspiration #meme #optimism #pessimism #present #struggle #success #utopia #victory

Sci-fi has been getting darker and more pessimistic through the decades.

A fascinating website that shows this, with data:

Who killed the world? https://pudding.cool/2024/07/scifi

#SciFi #dystopia #dystopian #dystopias #PostApocalyptic #fiction #ScienceFiction #future #pessimistic #pessimism

A quotation from Milne, A. A.:

«
“Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
“Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet was comforted by this.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/milne-a-a/48004/

#quote #quotes #quotation #catastrophizing #comfort #hope #hypothetical #optimism #pessimism #supposing #worstcasescenario

@Njord I don't think we'll be able to be truly carbon neutral or even carbon negative in 10, 20 or even 50 years.

I think the hammer will probably end up swinging more towards nationalism, fascism and authoritarianism in the next 10 years and that will have long-lasting effects.

Thus, much worse.

#Pessimistic #Pessimism

#Optimism and #pessimism are just #fatalism in fancy suits.

https://doctorow.medium.com/there-is-always-an-alternative-e55fd414d1fd

#Contestation #ScienceFiction #Polycrisis #WideningGyre

Investors Seek Refuge in Cash as Recession Fears Mount, BOFA Survey Reveals - Investors, plagued by mounting pessimism, have sought refuge in cash, according to... - https://news.bitcoin.com/investors-seek-refuge-in-cash-as-recession-fears-mount-bofa-survey-reveals/ #bankofamericasurvey #flighttosafety #bankofamerica #opportunities #cashreserves #creditcrunch #fundmanagers #bofasurvey #economics #investors #pessimism #recession #sentiment #global #stocks #survey #bonds #bofa

Investors Seek Refuge in Cash as Recession Fears Mount, BOFA Survey Reveals - Investors, plagued by mounting pessimism, have sought refuge in cash, according to... - https://news.bitcoin.com/investors-seek-refuge-in-cash-as-recession-fears-mount-bofa-survey-reveals/ #bankofamericasurvey #flighttosafety #bankofamerica #opportunities #cashreserves #creditcrunch #fundmanagers #bofasurvey #economics #investors #pessimism #recession #sentiment #global #stocks #survey #bonds #bofa

Investors Seek Refuge in Cash as Recession Fears Mount, BOFA Survey Reveals - Investors, plagued by mounting pessimism, have sought refuge in cash, according to... - https://news.bitcoin.com/investors-seek-refuge-in-cash-as-recession-fears-mount-bofa-survey-reveals/ #bankofamericasurvey #flighttosafety #bankofamerica #opportunities #cashreserves #creditcrunch #fundmanagers #bofasurvey #economics #investors #pessimism #recession #sentiment #global #stocks #survey #bonds #bofa

Investors Seek Refuge in Cash as Recession Fears Mount, BOFA Survey Reveals - Investors, plagued by mounting pessimism, have sought refuge in cash, according to... - https://news.bitcoin.com/investors-seek-refuge-in-cash-as-recession-fears-mount-bofa-survey-reveals/ #bankofamericasurvey #flighttosafety #bankofamerica #opportunities #cashreserves #creditcrunch #fundmanagers #bofasurvey #economics #investors #pessimism #recession #sentiment #global #stocks #survey #bonds #bofa

RT @[email protected]

#NormanAjari : The liquidation of the heritage of Black #pessimism "has had the consequence of legitimizing the idea that the only hope for Black people lies in their political dilution".

#Noirceur https://twitter.com/GalievSultan/status/1492501116151545858

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/PartiIndigenes/status/1500058576181731331

RT @[email protected]

#NormanAjari : The liquidation of the heritage of Black #pessimism "has had the consequence of legitimizing the idea that the only hope for Black people lies in their political dilution".

#Noirceur https://twitter.com/GalievSultan/status/1492501116151545858

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/DecolonialO/status/1492505931292282882