One of my favorite books of all time and also one of my favorite pieces in the theatre is the musical Candide. I think the lesson it gives us about the folly of unbridled optimism is important especially so today.
Candide was Right
In Candide, the famous parody of Enlightenment intellectuals, Voltaire gave us the line that “we must cultivate our garden.” It comes near the end of the work, when it becomes obvious that the moral lesson of Candide’s tutor, Dr. Pangloss, namely that “we live in the best of all possible worlds,” is in all likelihood incorrect.