What are your (non-personal – this is Hyde Park after all) hopes for 2016?
Please don’t criticize other’s hopes. You may not agree, but for one thread in here how about just stating your hopes without trying to crush anyone else’s hopes ;-)
To be fair, I guess I should put some up.
- That the Canadian government gets realistic about its finances, and accepts that not all of its election promises will be feasible given the state of the economy. (or else that maybe our economy picks up more than I'm expecting)
- That Daesh (aka ISIL aka ISIS) fractures. I don't think it will entirely go away in 2016, but I'm hoping that it gets put under enough pressure that internal fractures weaken it.
- That the world somehow figures out ways to make seeking refuge in Europe less appealing, without being inhuman about it. I don't kwow what this solution would look like, but I suspect it requires being better stewards of the world, instead of just taking care of our own.
- That the commitments made at the recent Paris climate conference actually drive action around the world, moving us towards a more sustainable mode of existing.
- That the Republican Party in the US comes up with a candidate more palatable to the (few remaining) moderates than Donald Trump. This is mostly selfish -- I don't think I could take an entire election, even second hand, where the platform of one side is "I am not Donald Trump" and that of the other side is "I am not Hilary Clinton!" But on a broader scale, I think that his sort of populism can be incredibly damaging (for current examples see Poland or Brazil, for populism of the right and left that are equally bad)
- That Germany comes up with a politician who can give a real challenge to Angela Merkel. I think that she has been phenomenal, and am not in a rush to see her go, but at the same time I'm a big believer in the importance of 'throwing the rascals out' on a regular basis.
- And speaking of throwing the rascals out, I hope that by some miracle US congressional districts will get less gerrymandered. Just joking, this one is so unlikely that there is no point in even hoping for it any time soon, sadly.
- That South Africa starts getting serious about reforms. The country has so much potential, but I really think that its current politics and governance are holding it back. It is such a major part of the African economy, and one of the places that is less likely to get seduced into the Chinese orbit, so seeing it succeed would IMO do a lot for Africa as a whole, by way of example and leadership.
- And speaking of China, that somehow the more centralizing and suppressive tendencies of the current leadership turn around. They’ve taken a turn toward the Russian model which I really don’t think is good for China or the world at large. (although in the medium term it may lead to improved strength of western companies as the inevitable impacts on the economy begin to take their toll in China)
Please don’t criticize other’s hopes. You may not agree, but for one thread in here how about just stating your hopes without trying to crush anyone else’s hopes ;-)
To be fair, I guess I should put some up.
- That the Canadian government gets realistic about its finances, and accepts that not all of its election promises will be feasible given the state of the economy. (or else that maybe our economy picks up more than I'm expecting)
- That Daesh (aka ISIL aka ISIS) fractures. I don't think it will entirely go away in 2016, but I'm hoping that it gets put under enough pressure that internal fractures weaken it.
- That the world somehow figures out ways to make seeking refuge in Europe less appealing, without being inhuman about it. I don't kwow what this solution would look like, but I suspect it requires being better stewards of the world, instead of just taking care of our own.
- That the commitments made at the recent Paris climate conference actually drive action around the world, moving us towards a more sustainable mode of existing.
- That the Republican Party in the US comes up with a candidate more palatable to the (few remaining) moderates than Donald Trump. This is mostly selfish -- I don't think I could take an entire election, even second hand, where the platform of one side is "I am not Donald Trump" and that of the other side is "I am not Hilary Clinton!" But on a broader scale, I think that his sort of populism can be incredibly damaging (for current examples see Poland or Brazil, for populism of the right and left that are equally bad)
- That Germany comes up with a politician who can give a real challenge to Angela Merkel. I think that she has been phenomenal, and am not in a rush to see her go, but at the same time I'm a big believer in the importance of 'throwing the rascals out' on a regular basis.
- And speaking of throwing the rascals out, I hope that by some miracle US congressional districts will get less gerrymandered. Just joking, this one is so unlikely that there is no point in even hoping for it any time soon, sadly.
- That South Africa starts getting serious about reforms. The country has so much potential, but I really think that its current politics and governance are holding it back. It is such a major part of the African economy, and one of the places that is less likely to get seduced into the Chinese orbit, so seeing it succeed would IMO do a lot for Africa as a whole, by way of example and leadership.
- And speaking of China, that somehow the more centralizing and suppressive tendencies of the current leadership turn around. They’ve taken a turn toward the Russian model which I really don’t think is good for China or the world at large. (although in the medium term it may lead to improved strength of western companies as the inevitable impacts on the economy begin to take their toll in China)
