By now it's an article of faith that 2020 was a uniquely terrible year. The COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 1.7 million people worldwide, an undeniable and at least partly avoidable tragedy. Millions were thrown out of work, although the world unemployment rate is still below where it was in the Great Recession; millions more sank back into poverty. The global economy, once expected to grow by 2.5 percent, shrank by an estimated 4 percent. Every disaster, every dumb decision, every celebrity death, every personal injury we blamed on 2020, as if a unit of time could be out to get us.
But if 2020 is to be treated as a sentient being, then it should also be applauded. That's right, I said what I said. The year saw advances on multiple fronts. Human ingenuity and tenacity brought some astounding breakthroughs. These were not mere silver linings, but major steps towards solving humanity's biggest problems and improving the quality of life for all. Fascism, climate change and institutional racism may have reared their ugly heads, but so did a coordinated popular response. As a result, the future is brighter than you think. Read more...
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