It's the pessimism that says that this world that we live in now is somehow what life is reduced to.  The steady systematic decline has beaten down people to believe that that's just the way it is, the world is going to hell in a handbasket.  Social security is FUBAR.  Terrorism should be an ever-present concern for the forseeable future.  The pollution cat is out of the bag & there's no way to get it back in, so eat fish now while you still can.  Healthcare insurance is a gift from your employer, a luxury you can't afford unless your employer is benevolent enough to provide you with it.  We're "the greatest democracy in the world" but we can't hold a simple election without controversy & that's just the way it will be.  People believe a lot of things that just aren't so or don't need to be and when you believe it, you don't fight to defeat it.