Since we started 8 years ago, Optimistic Anthropology has had the chance to work with clients and collaborators on issues that touch upon so many of the problems in the world that might lead to pessimism and hopelessness. In a global context, Optimistic Anthropology’s work has focused on genocide prevention, nuclear threat reduction, man- and climate-forced migration; sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as climate change. In a U.S. context - much of our work has focused on transforming systems that produce inequitable results for Black, LatinX, Indigenous, immigrant, and LGBTQIA+ folks - in education and health, including access to play spaces, sports, and arts.
When I launched this venture in the summer of 2017, I wrote about developing our firm’s name noting that “Optimism is hopefulness and confidence in the future.”
In 2025, running a consultancy called Optimistic Anthropology that holds that belief often feels like a radical act. However, years of working with tremendous people and organizations and communities on some of the world’s most intractable challenges has taught me that optimism is not a naive belief, but a sustaining practice. I could not do the work that I do with optimism.
Through my personal experiences and my work, I have learned that there are so many people in the world who want what is good and what is fair - not just for themselves, but for everyone.
And it is also true that there are some people who hold cynical and selfish views of the world who use their, power and resources to distort reality, capture the attention of vulnerable and disenchanted people, and enable and activate those people’s worst instincts – the instincts to blame, exclude, oppress, hate, and commit violence. These actions inflict profound harm on individuals, families, communities, and nations; they enable corruption and break down our belief in one another and our institutions; and destroy systems and norms, while enabling the people with wealth and power to amass even more of these things for themselves.
But, there are two important things I come back to about why I am committed ot the practice of optimism:
First, there are more of us who believe in what is good and fair than those who don’t.
Second, the systems and norms we have been operating under for decades and centuries - have not been serving everyone positively or justly. The destruction of these systems and norms - while horrific - is also creating unprecedented opportunities for our world to move beyond what was and bring a new world into being. But, we need to be ready and willing to roll up our sleeves, learn and work and eat and dance and sing and build community together to bring new systems and a new world into being.
When I share this thinking with others, a lot of folks believe these ideas, but still don’t know how to get started. I've been thinking about this as the process of answering the question, “what will it take to be ready to reimagine systems and bring more just and positive ones into being?”
I always like to remind myself (and those around me) that systems are made up of people. So, the work starts with us and those closest to us. Here are a couple of ways you might consider getting started or expanding your practice of optimism:
Discuss values and priorities with family and friends, and align your values with actions like volunteering, donations, and how you spend your money and share your resources - whether those resources are phyiscal (home, car, food) or skills and abilities (making/mending clothes, gardening, or 1000s of other things!)
Build relationships with neighbors or get involved in your local mutual aid network.
Join a new-to-you organization or network that helps you grow your knowledge and skills of issues and organizing. For me groups like Showing Up for Racial Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, If Not Now, DC Migrant Mutual Aid, and Free DC have been powerful connectors and teachers, as well as providing spaces for learning, ritual, creating art, as well as expressing joy, rage, frustration, and grief. But, a little research should lead you to great national and local groups relevant to your identity, experience, and geography.
Push on the institutions and leaders you’re connected to - whether that is your employer, union, alma mater, faith institution, or elected officials - you can encourage any group you’re a part of to align the way it spends its money, uses its resources, and enacts and supports policies with what is right, positive and just for humanity, not just for the institution’s own preservation.
But there are many different approaches that can help move us closer to the world we want to exist. So here's an invitation to share your insights and practices: “What are you doing - in big ways and/or small - to bring a more just and positive world into being?”
My hope is that by the time Optimistic Anthropology reaches it's sweet sixteen, there will be lots and lots of evidence of systems supporting a more just and positive future for all people around the world.
