Jacques Attali in praise of pessimism

In his blog for the weekly magazine L'Express the economist and former advisor to François Mitterrand Jacques Attali condemns the widespread tendency to think well of optimism: "It would be terribly dangerous to discredit pessimism. First and foremost because, unfortunately, in the blackest periods of our history the pessimists have always been right, and those who listened to them spared themselves much discomfort. ... And finally, because the systematic denunciation of pessimism and the apology of systematic optimism corresponds to the attitude of the affluent. The rich can afford to be optimists because they know that they will come out of any maelstrom better than all the rest. For them even the current financial crisis may be a source of gain. ... The poorest, for their part, are no more than spectators, and they are right to fear a loss of social status. Criticising pessimism is thus contenting oneself with the world as it is; so in a certain sense optimism is conservative. Pessimism, by contrast, is revolutionary, the very opposite of being resigned."

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