The topic of hope is currently not very much studied in the social sciences; and this means that the emerging discussion of economy and hope, in sociology and elsewhere, may still benefit from a general discussion of hope. This paper points to some useful reflections on hope that can be found in the religious and philosophical literature. It also attempts to summarize what the social sciences have said so far about hope, especially economics, sociology and anthropology. - In the general and concluding section of the paper it is suggested that it is important to approach hope from a perspective which is such that it opens up this topic to the social sciences. One that has this quality is the following: hope is a wish for something to come true. There are three elements to this description of hope: (1) the wish, (2) its focus on something specific, (3) and that the wish comes true. Elements (2) and (3) have direct links to the social world and therefore present entries for the social sciences. What you wish for depends on society, and so does the attempt to make a wish be realized. The consequences of these ideas for the sociological study of hope and the economy are briefly explored.