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What are the functions of optimism in modern societies? How is hope culturally transmitted? What values and attitudes does it reflect? This book explores how and why powerful institutions propagate ´cultures of optimism´ in different domains, such as politics, work, the family, religion and psychotherapy.

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Introduction 1. The Optimism Imperative 2. Optimistic Democracy: The Politics of Hope 3. Optimism at Work 4. Great Expectations: Parenting, Optimism and the Child 5. Models of Salvation: Religion, Eschatology and Hope 6. Optimism and the Self: From Mind-Cure to Psychotherapy 7. Culture(s) of Optimism Endnotes Bibliography Index

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Oliver Bennett is the author of Cultural Pessimism: Narratives of Decline in the Postmodern World. He is Professor of Cultural Policy at the University of Warwick and founding editor of the International Journal of Cultural Policy.

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