- I hope that 2018 is the year when so many Americans see through the lies and character flaws of Donald Trump that he becomes unpopular enough to kill off the far right in that country for a couple of generations.
- I fear it will be the year when we are informed regularly by the media that his tax cuts for the rich really were a work of genius because giving away free money almost always produces a boom. I fear they will not remind us that irresponsible deficit booms are almost always followed by a huge bust at a later date that no one can predict.
- I hope that 2018 will be the year when Theresa May gets kicked out of office by a revolt from ordinary people against sour negative politics served up by a deeply divided party led by a leader whose main ambition is to cling on to power.
- I fear it will be the year when the failure of the Labour Party to oppose Brexit consistently and honestly comes back to haunt all people of good will.
- I hope that there will be a step change in the level of awareness of the danger of covering the planet in a layer of plastic that is damaging every part of the planet from the deepest oceans to the highest mountain.
- I fear that production and consumption of throwaway products will continue to increase and that we will remain on course to use as much single use plastic in the next 20 years as has been used in the entire duration of human history.
- I hope that it will be a year of peace on earth and good will to all people
- I fear that Donald Trump’s ego will lead him to order a bombing raid on North Korea and that war and terrorism will continue to be provoked by Saudi Arabia, Israel, Russia, and religious bigots the world over.
- I hope that 2018 will finally be the year when greener forms of energy become so competitive in so many situations that the risk of missing out on a technological change dominates decision making. I hope that we are going to rapidly defeat those who want to cling on to old ways of doing things and the interests of those who own a stake in outdated fossilised business practices.
- I fear that my own country is going to be slow to respond to the change and will become a backwater as others race forward.
As I said at the start it is important not to confuse hopes with reality. It is also important to be hopeful when reality starts to move behind your ambitions. There really are grounds for believing that technology is on the cusp of change and there really are grounds for believing that this change will be a positive one for both the planet and for human society.
Reaction is always strongest just at the moment when the old order is facing its biggest challenge. I believe 2018 will continue to provide us with a great deal of ugly aggressive and selfish politics as a dying establishment tries to make its last stand against the need for change. I also sincerely believe those reactionaries will lose and we will be taken into a much better place by changes to technology which are no longer possible to resist.
Let us hope that I am wrong in all my predictions except for this last one. Bring on 2018.