> Pessimism, from the Latin pessimus (worst), is the decision to evaluate
> something as a negative when it is uncommon to do so. Value judgments may
> vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are
> undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass
> half empty or half full?" situation. The degree in which situations like
> these are evaluated as something good or something bad can be described in
> terms of one's optimism or pessimism respectively. Throughout history, the
> pessimistic disposition has had effects on all major areas of thinking.[1]
>
> Philosophical pessimism is the similar but not identical idea that life has
> a negative value, or that this world is as bad as it could possibly be.
>
> Historical account of pessimism
> The first idea of an apocalypse has been traced back to 1400 BC.[2] Because
> the first world war was followed by another, our collective ability to learn
> moral lessons from history begins to seem suspect. Operating on the premise
> that morality is empty rhetoric, game theory and its political complement
> political realism appear as a model for understanding and prescribing
> behavior. The post war fifties saw the rise of dystopian literature. Books ...

> Pessimism, from the Latin pessimus (worst), is the decision to evaluate
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pessimism