’Optimism is the opium of the people!’, declared Milan Kundera’s fictional hero Ludvik in the novel ‘The Joke’. But in times of crisis, many people are craving some good news that will give them hope for a better future.

What is the role of optimism in one’s psychology and sense of life? Is it an evasion to focus on good news, and prioritise them over gloomy and worrying prospects? How can one be an optimist in the current philosophical and cultural atmosphere, when the signs are that things are probably not going to be fine?