I don't see that cynicism is defeatist, passive or denies us progress. For one thing one can fight day-to-day corruption and rot with gusto but without despairi

I don't see that cynicism is defeatist, passive or denies us progress. For one thing one can fight day-to-day corruption and rot with gusto but without despairing that it will ever be eradicated. There is satisfaction in progress. The cynic is NOT someone who has given up. Practical example 1: twitter has become a problem for you? Fine, move twitter to the bottom of the barrel and use some competitor - or change format altogether. Myspace or geocities were insurmontable artifacts in society. Even when they once felt like it. Being loud about it, as the cynic is, is not a bad thing. Giving up ON TWITTER is not a bad thing - and it is promoting progress (toward better platforms). Practical example 2: the two parties are roughly the same thing? Consistently vote for number 3. Number 3 rarely gets elected - of course - but sometimes it does happen (it's how Macron became president in France - no matter what Macron does or doesn't do, that was amazing). Number 3 wouldn't solve everything either. When - as usual - that does not happen, you have at least made space for the number 3s of the future. Always voting for the usual suspects, on the other hand, is guaranteed to perpetuate the problem. One strong positive I see in cynicism is the loud recognition that All is not for the best in the best of all possible worlds. THAT would be bullshit. There might be an assumption that the cynic is passive. Be a loud cynic. The cynic does not undermine anything but - when loud - reminds people that there is work to be done, and to do a little bit of it. The cynic is a strong positive (yes!), active voice compared to a sea of apathy. Now, click-baiting - that's a problem but that's not cynicism.