…is a quote attributed to Alasdair Gray
Below, a quote from Charlie Stross’ latest blog post – “Utopia”.
“…we badly need more utopian speculation. The consensus future we read about in the media and that we’re driving towards is a roiling, turbulent fogbank beset by half-glimpsed demons: climate change, resource depletion, peak oil, mass extinction, collapse of the oceanic food chain, overpopulation, terrorism, foreigners who want to come here and steal our
womenjobs. It’s not a nice place to be; if the past is another country, the consensus view of the future currently looks like a favela with raw sewage running in the streets. Conservativism — standing on the brake pedal — is a natural reaction to this vision; but it’s a maladaptive one, because it makes it harder to respond effectively to new and unprecedented problems. We can’t stop, we can only go forward; so it is up to us to choose a direction.”
I like the Scots.
Petafloptimism 
For the record, Charlie’s a native of Leeds (a town I lived in and also has a fine vibe in places) but has lived in Edinburgh for long enough to certainly be a wee bit Scottish…
(I lived in Edinburgh too – the bits described in Trainspotting – and loved it. It’s a good town for outsiders generally. In places.)
oops. thanks cat. i’d always *assumed* he was scottish…