Her Maj is happy - should we be too? Photocredit: PA
2011 was the year in which there was enough news to last for a decade – nay, perhaps even a century. There was – was? – is the global economic crisis; there was the tsunami that caused the nuclear disaster at Fukushima; Osama bin Laden was killed; there were the English riots, a royal wedding, the Occupy Movement; and the Arab Spring jasmine revolutions.
And what about the future? There’s a new kid on the block in North Korea, in the shape of Kim Jong-il’s son Kim Jong-un, which may bring instability to the region; there’s testing of nuclear missiles in Iran; and the bloody uprising in Syria. So, we’re all happily going to hell in a massive, free-rolling handcart. Or are we?
Are there reasons to be cheerful in 2012? Daniel Knowles in his The Daily Telegraph blog said that we need a dose of optimism – and countries should, instead of proudly becoming more parochial, learn how to work together again. Every major good of the past few decades has come from multilateral thinking, and countries should give each other a chance so that we can all benefit.
Mr Grumpy Richard Murphy on Liberal Conspiracy, however, was much less cheerful, claming that we face the worst economic crisis since 1945; there’ll be “social unrest” across the world; many of us will lose are jobs; people will be evicted from their houses; there’ll be more bankruptcies; companies will fail; democracy will fail; and to top it all off, “[p]ublic services will get worse.”
Mr Happy Most of us, said a Financial Times editorial, will be looking forward to more austerity. But there are “some bright spots.” There’s been no sign of protectionism; and low income countries are moving up into middle income levels, meaning global inequality is falling. “Never before have so many been lifted out of poverty in such a short time.” There’s democracy forming in the Arab world; even Burma’s liberalising, and people in China, Russia and even the US are demanding “more accountability” from politicians. Al-Qaeda’s lost Osama bin Laden; Ratko Mladic has been arrested for war crimes in Bosnia. And there’s the science bit – meaning that lifespans are longer across the world. So the world is “a far better and safer place” now, than it was even fifty years ago. “What other reason does one need to be cheerful?”
Messrs Happiest A team of writers in The Independent gave us lots to be happy about for Britain: inflation will fall; incomes will rise; the Diamond Jubilee will lift our “national morale”, as will the Olympics. We’ve got a battle between Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson to look forward to; in the arts, we have “blockbuster shows” from David Hockney and Damien Hirst. And our health is good too – there’s possibly the lowest levels of seasonal flu ever this year. We’re making strides with renewable energy sources; and things are looking up even in the worlds of fashion and sport – Stella McCartney’s got a new show on, for heaven’s sake. So with that, Periscope beams at the New Year with open arms.