The relationship between optimism, pessimism and the economic downturn is a fascinating one. I’ve blogged before about how some American thinkers have tried to blame the recession on a surplus of optimism, untempered by the sense of realism that pessimism brings. But it now seems that too much pessimism is bad for you too. In fact, increasingly, the US is positively – or should that be negatively? – drowning in it.
A recent article in the business section of the Wall Street Journal warns that a polarised and pessimistic US is a big threat. Hardly a major insight. What is informative, however, are the reasons why US economic pessimism is on the increase. Two reasons are suggested:
“The big question is why have Americans become so pessimistic? The most striking explanation is political polarisation. Many Americans at both ends of the spectrum are actually hoping for a double dip, since this will discredit the Obama administration … Another reason for US pessimism is that national prosperity is dependent on the world economy as never before, and acknowledging this is proving traumatic.”
National party politics and American stress due to globalisation – not much we can do about either of these, is there? Go here to read the perspective of British journal Mark Mardell. If you want to get a taste of how sharply divisive all this is, take a read at the hundreds of comments.
Or maybe not. Reading the might make you, well, pessimistic…
Whatever, it seems that from the far side of the Atlantic, we’re not done with (the) depression yet.
Image credit: Beverly & Pack.
Whilst i would not blame being over positive as a cause for the economic downturn, I do however think that attitudes as portrayed in “The Secret“ which have produced people who believe that they can ignore the physical element of our Universe and manifest success without proactive input. Even fire needs an energy to get ignited won’t ignite without some input.
In our wee business world here in Norn Airland we have ignored effect of selling in business. The old adage if you build a better mouse trap the world will beat a path to your door (or dure) perhaps you might need to sell the idea first!
, I think a lot of people your age had a ptrtey good run in the late nineties and early 2000s. The 2001 recession was short, unemployment low and the tech bubble quickly replaced by the real estate bubble. 2004-06 was the height of consumerism in the US. I think one reason you experienced the recent past more negatively is the fact that the gap between the experiences of people like you in the military and those who were not is great. Military folk had to endure multiple deployments and stresses on families and lives while many others were obliviously running up consumer debt and enjoying the bubble economy. President Bush said people should show their patriotism by going shopping something many Americans embraced with gusto!