Does hope help? Climate emotions and the chances for change

Abstract

Hope is sometimes dismissed as a feel‐good attitude that discourages people from taking meaningful action. In climate debates, many activists and scholars frame fear as a more effective motivator than hope. Yet in rural Namibia and Kenya, as well as in several recent social movements, hope is experienced as a vital force that sustains people in their efforts to create change. Drawing on these experiences and on phenomenology, we examine whether hope can productively address the climate crisis. We show that practical hope can transform situations by warding off despair, enabling achievement, and drawing others into collective action. We also describe how our interlocutors understand their heart as growing stronger when they confront hardship with hope, indicating an ontological shift toward a more resilient and hopeful self. We conclude that practical hope is effective, and that anthropology should communicate more hope‐filled narratives that contribute to an atmosphere in which transformative change becomes possible.