If the final decades of the 20th century were marked by a burst of techno-capitalist optimism, the first decades of the 21st century have often felt like a step-by-step descent into despair. Everyone, it seems, feels grim about the present and worse about the future.
Read moreThe Trouble With Hitler Analogies
It is often said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. But identifying the history that we might be foolishly repeating is no easy task. The past is littered with people drawing superficial or incomplete parallels and making bad decisions as a result. Trying to prevent something that isn’t really happening can lead down a rabbit hole of misunderstandings and mistakes.
Read moreUpworthy’s Quest to Engineer Optimism for an Anxious Age
The world finds itself in an age saturated with anxiety—at least, that’s the sense created by the daily deluge of news portraying a grim present of economic hardship, global tensions, terrorism, and political upheaval. The five-year-old site Upworthy doesn’t want you to see the world that way.
Read moreDon’t Panic!
For the past three years, stock markets have been either placid or up. That is especially true of U.S. stocks, but global markets have largely followed suit. Bonds have been similarly subdued. Over the past two weeks, that calm has been shattered.
Read moreWhy Do So Many People Hate Optimists?
Over the past four weeks, we’ve had a run of undeniably good news: the U.S. economic system appears to be on firm ground; more people have the pace of overall activity as measured by GDP is at the highest level in two years. And yet, an aura of unease still seems to hover over us.
Read moreThe Optimism Deficit
In the nearly 15 years that I’ve been writing about markets and managing money, there’s been a dramatic shift that has gotten only marginal notice. We’ve gone from having an optimism surplus to an optimism deficit. That may be a greater problem than the budget surplus becoming a deficit.
Read moreGoing Green Means Staying Profitable for Companies
Environmental concern is suddenly all the rage, all around the world. Unless you've been asleep, you've read many articles about this hot trend. In early July, China lifted gasoline subsidies, in part to force consumers and businesses to confront the costs of using more of that ever more costly resource.
Read moreCOMPANIES ARE GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
Environmental concern is suddenly all the rage, all around the world. Unless you've been buried in a coal mine for the past year, you've been inundated with articles about this hot new trend. In early July, China lifted gasoline subsidies, in part to force consumers and businesses to confront the costs of using more of that ever-more costly resource.
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