“…in general, the traditionalists are backward-looking, conservative; pessimists about the future and optimists about the past.”
Often quoted as "Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past.", e.g, Peter's Quotations : Ideas for Our Time (1979) by Laurence J. Peter, p. 112.
Faith for Living (1940)
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Lewis Mumford75
American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology,… 1895–1990Related quotes
“I'm a pessimist about probabilities, I'm an optimist about possibilities.”
Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic
As quoted in "Lewis Mumford Remembers" by Carey Winfrey in The New York Times (6 July 1977)
Regina Doman (1970) American writer
Source: The Shadow of the Bear
“To the optimist, pessimists are neurotic; to the pessimist, optimists are deluded.”
David H. Levy (1948) Canadian astronomer
Humor in Psychotherapy (2007)
Gough Whitlam (1916–2014) Australian politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia
Self-quoted in The Whitlam Government 1972–1975 by Gough Whitlam
Jomo Kenyatta (1893–1978) First prime minister and first president of Kenya
(1964) Post-election statement. Virginia Morell, Ancestral Passions: The leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings, Copyright 1995, Chapter 19, beginning.
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright
Variant: Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.
Gladys Bronwyn Stern (1890–1973) British writer
Quoted in Women Know Everything!: 3,241 Quips, Quotes, and Brilliant Remarks By Karen Weekes, p. 41
Jonathan Safran Foer book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Source: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close