Love Quote by John Perry Barlow

Barlow’s line smuggles a provocation inside a reassurance: the hopes that can be defended with evidence are, by definition, the least ambitious. “Groundless” reads like an insult until he pairs it with “unconditional love,” the other emotion we’re socially trained to admire while privately fearing as naive. The move is sly. He reframes irrationality not as a defect but as a necessary fuel for any project that exceeds the data in front of you.

The intent isn’t to endorse delusion; it’s to attack a culture that demands receipts for every feeling. In late-20th-century America - and especially in the libertarian, cyber-utopian orbit Barlow helped shape - the future was something you willed into existence before you could prove it was possible. “Worth having” is the tell: he’s ranking hopes by their generative power, not their likelihood. A hope tethered to probability is just a forecast. A hope without grounds is an act of identity, a declaration that you’ll behave as if a better outcome can be made real.

The subtext is also defensive. By yoking hope to unconditional love, Barlow anticipates the eye-rolls: yes, it sounds soft. He insists softness is exactly the point. Unconditional love doesn’t guarantee safety; it risks betrayal. Groundless hope doesn’t guarantee success; it risks embarrassment. Both require choosing commitment over hedging, which is why they’re “worth having” only if you accept the cost: being the kind of person who refuses to let cynicism pose as intelligence.