Hope in the time of hopelessness

Abstract

We live in a time of multiple crisis and extreme loss. The beginning of the twenty-first century has been marked by multiple financial crises, a pandemic, in addition to new and endless wars. Above and beyond it all, the ecological crisis has changed the way humans think of themselves, the world, and the future. How do we live and live on when the very prospect of a future is uncertain? How do we raise new generations to become independent citizens of the world if we cannot promise a future where such a world exists? Drawing on an ethnographic and interview-based study of young climate activists in The Green Youth Movement (Den grønne ungdomsbevægelse) in Denmark, this article explores the role of hope for our dealings with the ecological crises in general, and for young climate activists in particular. I argue that genuine hope—distinguished from naïve optimism, presupposes a confrontation with limitations, and is intimately related to grief, action and care.