Optimism acts as the fire beneath the feet of visionaries, the dream that drives innovators, and the meaning behind life itself.  The absence of hope is the admittance of defeat. Posing the hypothetical of a problem-free world begs the question of the relevance optimism would retain in such a society.  Even without global epidemics such as racism, sexism, bigotry, and violence, a world without optimism is one without a soul.

If optimism does not always coexist with humanity, we will become fixed on a perpetual cycle of complacency, content with the mediocracy of our lives.  Not only is optimism “essential to achievement,” but “it is also the foundation of courage and true progress”(Nicholas Murray Butler).  Hope fosters innovation and challenges the trailblazer to work towards something other than the superficial.  By disregarding optimism, people would operate with a myopic view of society, appeased by the discoveries of their forefathers and unmotivated to contribute their own.  Looking beyond physical innovation, discrimination is rampant in society and whether prejudice directly affects you or not, we must stand in solidarity for our neighbors.  For “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,”(Martin Luther King Jr.) thus optimism is always necessary. By “[standing] for nothing [we] will fall for anything”(Malcolm X) as optimism is more valuable than life itself.  How many people have given themselves for idealism, from religion to ethics?  Hope far outweighs fear and overpowers selfishness; love cannot exist without it, nor can justice be executed.  Perfection is unachievable regardless of the absence of global problems, yet the pursuit of perfection is the goal of optimists who seek a route with the greatest benefit to society, regardless of the cost to themselves.  

Societal progress is gained through optimists’ insatiable desire to improve the world’s collective condition, whether or not global problems appear to be solved.  Contentment of the present and hope for the future are mutually exclusive principles which determine if we will stand stagnant and prosaic, or evolve. The solution to global problems does not replace optimists’ role, it only raises the standard to which they will aspire.