The problem of climate change inaction is sometimes said to be ‘wicked’, or essentially insoluble, and it has also been seen as a collective action problem, which is correct but inconsequential. In the absence of progress, much is made of various frailties of the public, hence the need for an optimistic tone in public discourse to overcome fatalism and encourage positive action. This argument is immaterial without meaningful action in the first place, and to favour what amounts to the suppression of truth over intellectual openness is in any case disreputable. ‘Optimism’ is also vexed in this context, often having been opposed to the sombre mood of environmentalists by advocates of economic growth. The greater mental impediments are ideological fantasy, which is blind to the contradictions in public discourse, and the misapprehension that if optimism is appropriate in one social or policy context it must be appropriate in others. Optimism, far from spurring climate change action, fosters inaction.

中文翻译：

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气候变化无所作为和乐观主义

气候变化不作为的问题有时被称为“邪恶的”，或根本无法解决，也被视为集体行动问题，这是正确但无关紧要的。在没有进步的情况下，公众的各种弱点在很大程度上是由公众的各种弱点造成的，因此需要在公共话语中保持乐观的基调，以克服宿命论并鼓励积极的行动。首先，如果没有有意义的行动，这个论点是无关紧要的，而且赞成压制真理而不是智力开放在任何情况下都是不光彩的。在这种情况下，“乐观主义”也令人烦恼，因为经济增长的倡导者常常反对环保主义者的阴郁情绪。更大的心理障碍是意识形态幻想，它对公共话语中的矛盾视而不见，以及一种误解，即如果乐观主义适用于一种社会或政策环境，那么它就必须适用于其他社会或政策环境。乐观主义远非刺激气候变化行动，反而助长了无所作为。