What is "pronoia"

n. (context psychology English) A belief that people conspire to do one good

The pronoia (plural pronoiai; Greek: πρόνοια, meaning "care" or "forethought") was a system of granting dedicated streams of state income to individuals and institutions in the late Byzantine Empire. Beginning in the 11th century and continuing until the empire's conquest in the 15th century, the system differed in significant ways from European feudalism of the same period.

Pronoia is a neologism that is defined as the opposite state of mind to paranoia: having the sense that there is a conspiracy that exists to help the person. It is also used to describe a philosophy that the world is set up to secretly benefit people.

In 2008 the writer and Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Perry Barlow defined pronoia as "the suspicion the Universe is a conspiracy on your behalf".

Pronoia may refer to:

• Pronoia (plural pronoiai, Greek for "provisions"), a system of land grants in the Byzantine Empire
• Pronoia (psychology), the phenomenon akin to the opposite of paranoia
• The Greek term for providence (usually Divine Providence) in ancient Greek philosophy