Reflections on Nigel Thrift's optimism: political strategies to implement his vision

This response to Nigel Thrift's recent paper (2002, Geoforum 33, 291–298) develops two of his points: the need for geography to remain buoyant within school curricula and a potential split of physical from human geography within the universities. I argue that political strategies are necessary for both if geography is to remain the large, intellectually vibrant discipline that Thrift identifies.