Meliorism
- “what is meliorism”
- “did george eliot coin meliorism”
- “meliorism vs optimism”
- “is the world getting better”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Meliorism | Optimism |
|---|---|---|
| Improvement is | Possible | Expected |
| Requires effort | Yes | No |
| Can be disappointed | Yes | Yes |
| Implies duty | Yes | No |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders who land here meaning Meliorism rather than Optimism are usually searching for phrases like “what is meliorism”, “did george eliot coin meliorism”, “meliorism vs optimism”.
03 · The mix-up
Where the confusion comes from
The mix-up“Meliorism is just optimism with a longer name.”
What's true
Its defining move is treating improvement as a PROBABILITY REQUIRING HUMAN INTERVENTION rather than a certainty. It holds that people must actively interfere for the world to get better — which makes it an argument for work, not for cheerfulness.
04 · Read either one