Radical hope is the spirit of our times that we so urgently need now to build the first sustainable generation, with the ocean as its foundation.
What is Radical Hope
Radical hope emerges in the climate and biodiversity crises. It arises from the refusal to accept that there is little that we can do to overcome our global challenges, and that all that we have left is to wait for the worst to happen. Radical hope stands for what we do based on knowledge and love, to build the first sustainable generation, using the soil of the twin crises as our powerful fertilizer.
In all of this, it focuses the world’s attention on the ocean and prioritizes the rebuilding of all key marine habitats that sustain the entire ecosystem. Because radical hope reminds us that the ocean, as the planet’s largest carbon sink and the thriving source of life on Earth, is the first and best indicator that guides our path to overcoming climate change and biodiversity loss.
What is the difference between hope and optimism?
Optimism is guided by external circumstances and thus the belief that the world will change for the better all by itself. Hope does not share this belief. Instead it arises in a deplorable situation through people who act to overcome deeply difficult situations with courage and determination. Hence hope is what we do to make the world a better place.
Why is this hope radical?
Nothing can survive without roots and nothing can grow strong without them.
The word radical comes from the Latin word radix, meaning ‘root’. These are necessary for hope to grow and survive in times of crisis. But what are the roots of radical hope? It does not take much to get to the root of a problem and solve it comprehensively. Just two things: Knowledge and Love. Knowledge as the basis for developing solutions, but also as the basis for our identity and social change. And love to guide our sense of the ‘good and beautiful’, so that the actions we take truly create a world where life is better and more beautiful, but also one that is realistic and possible.
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Who are radical hopers
Everybody says it is impossible, until radical hopers come along who do not accept this and redefine what is possible by simply doing it.
One day future generations will look back. But what will they see? Did we give up and leave them alone with a destroyed blue planet with little or no chance of recovery? Radical hopers live with the awareness that our actions today will shape the future of generations to come. And all they want to do now is take responsibility and act.
Out of this awareness, radical hopers do not leave the shaping of our sustainable future to a few decision-makers who see it as a future too distant to be of their concern. They have recognized that our current challenge is less of a knowledge gap than an action gap. The previous ‘just talking’ has now ceased to exist and is being replaced by ‘doing now’.
