declinism

English

Etymology

decline +‎ -ism

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈklaɪnɪzəm/

Noun

declinism (uncountable)

1. A pessimistic belief that things are in decline.
   • 2007 May 13, Walter Isaacson, “The Empire in the Mirror”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Laudably, he [Cullen Murphy] ends on some optimistic notes, and some prescriptions, rather than wallowing in declinism.

   • 2015 January 16, Pete Etchells, “Declinism: is the world actually getting worse?”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     So maybe declinism is just a quirk of human psychology.

   • 2018, Simon Philo, Glam Rock: Music in Sound and Vision, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 104:

     Instead, declinism ruled—the belief that Britain was in a state of terminal, irreversible decline being widely shared, and—as glam has demonstrated—frequently and forcibly expressed.

   • 2023 January 27, Phillip Inman, quoting Jeremy Hunt, “Jeremy Hunt overdoes the Es: why his economic plan is a letdown”, in the Guardian‎^[3]:

     The chancellor came to Bloomberg’s HQ in the City of London on Friday seeking to raise the country’s spirits, hail the split with Brussels and dispel the “declinism” he says saps Britain’s energy.

Related terms

• declinist

See also

• deteriorationism
• negativity bias