meliorism

noun /ˈmiːlɪəɹɪz(ə)m/

1. The view or doctrine that the world can be improved through human effort (often understood as an intermediate outlook between optimism and pessimism).

   countable, uncountable

   At the convention, the official mood was traditional Methodist meliorism.

Where it comes from

From Latin melior (“better”) + -ism. Reportedly coined by British author George Eliot in her letters, published in 1877.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry meliorism (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← megrimmelisma →

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