A different world: could 2021 be the best year for a generation?

With the worst potentially behind us, we can be optimistic that somewhere better lies aheadHas a new year ever been as eagerly anticipated as 2021? A fresh start, a new era, technically a new decade, a line drawn under an annus horribilis, and some genuine hope to look forward to. Making predictions is always unwise, especially about the future, they say; making optimistic ones even more so. But could 2021 be the best year for a generation?Of course this is tempting fate. It would be far safer to predict yet more confrontation, antagonism and misery, and claim vindication the moment the first crisis of the new year erupts, whether it is in Hong Kong, Ethiopia, a snarled-up British port or an unfortunate lowland that happens to be on the receiving end of 2021's first deluge. Continue reading...