social policy and the issue of hope

Hope for the future in recent social science studies indicates a positive assessment of the improvement of economic and social conditions. Evaluation of one's future is greatly influenced by evaluation of past trends and the current state of society. In fact, respondents' assessment of the future is a kind of critique of the current and past situation and policies; A kind of reflection evaluation and critique of the continuity and stickiness of current policies. This perception is reminiscent of the historical nature of the issue of hope. In this paper, society’s assessment of the future is reviewed based on data from the National Social Health Survey. In this survey, which was conducted in 2018, the respondents' assessment of the future situation was sought in eight economic and social areas: welfare status, happiness, moral and religious values, economic status, status of empathy, housing status, health status, and employment status. One question is asked about each of these, and the three options "gets better", "does not change", and "gets worse" are presented to the respondents. Putting the data of this survey with the two surveys of Iranians 'values and attitudes and social capital over time shows the declining trend of Iranians' hopeful assessment of the future. Using the data in the analytical and statistical reports of related areas such as poverty, unemployment, regional inequalities and the status of the provinces, etc., the relationship between the survey data and the actual situation of the society is explained.