> There is not now and there never was any particular way "to go about it"
> in the sense of a formal plan for cahnging the world. One merely keeps
> on trying to do it.
Yes, I agree. Both pessimism and optimism indicate that you've already made your mind up in some nontrivial way. Former list member Angela ended a recent piece discussing the proliferation of border technologies in this way, which is relevant here and which I really like: "One can stand in awe of their complexity or be enraged by their enthusiastic attachment to suffering and fear. But simply because what gives rise to them is not always recognisable – often taking place literally underground – does not mean they are where power, or the future, is. The future, then, remains tense. Neither hope nor despair; but experiment."