A meliorist is someone who believes that things get better, mostly as a result of technology. The word comes from the Latin root "melior." Whereas the Latin root "optima" means "best," "melior" is the root for "better."

We believe that optimization, or the search for one single best solution, is an old paradigm notion. There is no one "best" to achieve. Setting sights on a single "best" can result in a narrowing perspective. This contrasts with meliorism which, on the other hand, seeks continual improvement through a process of constant adjustment, review and reaction through a feedback loop. It is a non-hierarchical, bottom-up, non-linear, highly flexible and adaptable method of achieving improvement. Evolution is the classic example of meliorization; change and transformation produce improvement through a process of iterative adaptation.

The North American Dictionary defines meliorism as "the belief that human society has a natural tendency to improve and that people can consciously assist this process. A belief in progress and improvement."

There was a small, brief movement of the same name, around the same time as the Luddite movement. Unlike the Luddites, the Meliorists believed that technology could in fact improve people's lives. They probably didn't get more traction because they weren't able to secure venture funding.

The Meliorist Logo was designed by Rebecca Frank.