What we need now is unblinkered analysis and coordinated progressive political action beyond the extreme centre at both the national and international levels.
Where do we go from here? After a dramatic year, we look ahead to some key economic and political trends that will influence our lives over the next 12 months.
Delegates in conference at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Reuters
The misconceived perception that decisions made by a few elites are good for all could potentially foment resentment by ordinary African citizens against regionalism.
Globalisation facilitates technology entrepreneurship.
Image sourced from shutterstock.com
One thing became dramatically apparent in the economic sphere following the Cold War: capitalism was ubiquitous, but it looked very different in Japan, Germany, the US and China.
Since the 1990s a shift has occurred in manufacturing from developed to developing countries like China.
Adrian Bradshaw/EPA
Research shows that low-skilled workers are losing jobs and wages in developed countries because of trade, but the evidence still isn’t there as to who are the winners.
Before he was the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump accepted three bars of gold bullion as payment for a 10-year lease on a building he owned.
Mike Segar/Reuters