"Always look on the bright side of life." Ever since Eric Idle sang those words in the Monty PythonA British comedy act of the 1960s and 1970s. It has been hugely influential around the world. film Life of Brian, the message they carry has inspired millions. If he could keep his spirits up during his own crucifixionA method of capital punishment involving tying or nailing someone to a wooden cross and allowing them to die from exposure., we can surely cope with whatever problems we are facing.

Nonetheless, it can be hard to hold on to that good mood. The economy is due to slump into recession for more than a year. Thousands will lose their jobs as prices shoot up by 13%. The high cost of fuel will mean a hard, cold winter for millions.

After the recession, we will still have to deal with the effects of climate breakdown. Iraq has spent days labouring under 50C - a lethal temperatureWhen temperature and humidity are both high, human beings cannot sweat quickly enough to cool down, and may overheat, with fatal consequences. for anyone who goes out in the sun for even a few hours.

No-one is hit harder by these crises than young people. Youth unemployment is always higher than the general rate, and young people, who are more likely to work in precarious jobs In recent years there has been a surge in jobs that do not offer long-term employment contracts, allowing workers to be given less pay or simply be fired at will. People working these jobs are sometimes called the "precariat"., suffer the most from recessions.

Young people are more likely to be renters, and many are seeing their rents rise by as much as 10%. The average person in their 20s spends more than a third of their income on rent. Meanwhile, house prices shoot upwards, locking younger people out.

And of course, it is young people who will have to rebuild a world ravaged by climate catastrophe.

But some say we should fight our hopelessness. They think the only way to survive in a world of such adversity is to stay cheerful.

Scholar Timothy Hampton claims cheerfulness is a rich emotion. It makes us care about others. And it makes us want to solve our collective problems to improve people's lives.

Many philosophers have extolled the virtues of cheerfulness. David HumeThe Scottish philosopher argued that all human knowledge is acquired through experience and therefore embracing the unknown is a fundamental part of being human. claimed that cheer is contagious: a cheerful person lights up a room.

But Hampton also warns we should be wary of cheerfulness. He worries that the version of cheer we know is superficial.

Others believe we should harness the power of hopelessness. Radical thinker Karl MarxA 19th-Century German economist and philosopher who argued that capitalism was doomed to collapse. thought that revolutionary change will only come about when the proletariatThe working class, often used with reference to Marxism. has become so downtrodden and desperate that it has nothing left to lose. He might argue that we should embrace our despair - and use it to transform the world.

Yes: We have to be realistic. The economy is crashing and the world is burning. There is injustice everywhere. Trying to remain cheerful is not an adequate response to such horror.

No: Keeping ourselves cheerful is the only way to survive this mess. And cheer also makes us more active and generous people, so it will help us solve the huge challenges we face.

Or... Hopelessness can create its own kind of cheerfulness. Someone who knows they have nothing to hope for also has nothing to lose. We should harness this dark cheerfulness to change the world.