meliorism（n.）
作为一个形而上学的概念，“相信世界趋向变得更好或有改善的能力”； 在实际应用中，“通过规范的实际手段改善社会”； 到1868年，被归属于“乔治·艾略特”（玛丽·安·埃文斯），源自拉丁语 melior “更好”（参见 meliorate）+ -ism。相关词汇： Meliorist（1835）； melioristic。
In her general attitude towards life, George Eliot was neither optimist nor pessimist. She held to the middle term, which she invented for herself, of "meliorist." She was cheered by the hope and by the belief in gradual improvement of the mass; for in her view each individual must find the better part of happiness in helping another. ["Life and Letters"]
在她对待生活的总体态度上，乔治·艾略特既不是乐观主义者也不是悲观主义者。她坚持自己发明的中间立场，“改良主义者”。她对大众逐渐改善的希望和信念感到振奋； 因为在她看来，每个人都必须在帮助他人中找到更好的幸福。[“生平和书信”]
I don't know that I ever heard anybody use the word "meliorist" except myself. But I begin to think that there is no good invention or discovery that has not been made by more than one person. The only good reason for referring to the "source" would be, that you found it useful for the doctrine of meliorism to cite one unfashionable confessor of it in the face of the fashionable extremes. ["George Eliot," letter to James Sully, Jan. 19, 1877]
我不知道除了我自己之外是否有人使用过“改良主义者”这个词。但我开始认为，没有一个好的发明或发现是只有一个人做出的。提到“来源”的唯一好理由是，你发现在时尚的极端面前，引用一个不时髦的信仰者来证明改良主义的教义是有用的。[“乔治·艾略特”，致詹姆斯·萨利的信，1877年1月19日]
该词起源时间：1868年