So 2024 is done and dusted, too. It was quite the year. Looking back:
First posted on Facebook earlier today. Too much content for friggin Linkedin or other social media, so now copy and paste here. Shamelessly mixing the political and the personal.
The bad
1. Trump got elected. It’s a crazy country, the US of A. Unfortunately, it won’t just have consequences for those that elected him. Ask Canada, Denmark, Greenland, and Panama although I assume that Trump’s related utterances in these matters are just part of the flood-the-zone strategy to distract from fundamental changes to civil and voting rights, the further dismantling of institutions, never-ending grifting, immigration restrictions, and other attempts to move the US of A back to a White(r) America. It will be interesting to see how much the threat of stock market gyrations will constrain Trump. The one thing you can rely on with Trump is his relentless focus on lining his own pockets and that of his clan. Self-aggrandizement, too.
2. Putin continued his brutal attempt at land grab at extremely high cost to Russia as well as Ukraine, and Europe, more generally. He has his share in the fall of the German federal government and for that matter the one in France.
3. Netanyahu, that self-styled savior of Israel, is leading his country into ruin indeed. Opening multiple fronts and killing, maiming, and starving innocent civilians in the millions is not a strategy that has a chance of being successful. Not in the long run.
4. What Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu have in common is their relentless pursuit of power, in all cases seemingly motivated by their attempts to stay out of prison.
5. Trump’s election is not the only instance that has demonstrated the destructive influence of various forms of social media. It is unclear to me how the promise of social media can be resurrected given that we are on a very slippery slope towards tsunamis of lies and misinformation. The recent Loomer — Bannon — Musk — Ramaswamy kerfuffle has demonstrated what happens if a Tech bro/overlord such as Musk introduces monetization options that he can use at will to silence critics of his or the (incoming) government du jour that he supports (and intends to exploit for all it is worth). That on the receiving end, for now, is Laura Loomer — a once-close ally of Trump and racist supreme — is ironic but should not deflect from the fact that she is substantially right about the fact that billionaire dickheads should not have that kind of social-media influence and control.
6. I struggle to transfer pension funds and social-security entitlements from the USA to Australia. The US SS Administration in particular seems designed to deny claims by relentless stonewalling. One of the top projects for 2025.
7. A bunch of folks took their last bow that contributed to the soundtrack of my life: Eric Carmen (of Raspberries fame), Francoise Hardy, William Hart (of Delfonics fame), John Mayall, Catherine Ribeiro, Kris Kristofferson, Quincy Jones among them. Vale.
The good
1. Trump got elected and it will be — predictably — a rough ride for many. That said, all the bluster and threats of retaliation, territorial acquisitions, and other forms of bullying go only so far as Transactional Donnie is learning quickly. Thune rather than Scott as GOP Senate leader, recess appointments a hot-air ballon that got deflated quickly, Gaetz taken down brutally (with a couple of other nominees almost certain to follow), Lara Trump never standing a chance to stand in for Marco Rubio, 38 (and 34) House Republicans having rejected Trump-supported stop-gap measures and him not getting the increase of the debt limit he so very much wanted, a Federal Appeals Court upholding the EJ Carroll sexual abuse verdict against him, and other Federal and state cases not yet dismissed (with more undoubtedly coming), … it will be a rough ride for Transactional Donnie and MAGA, too. Cue the Loomer — Bannon — Musk — Ramaswamy dust-up. Nevermind that Jimmy Carter sneakily chose his date of death such that the flag will fly at half-mast on the day Transactional Donnie will be inaugurated. Gotta love the symbolism of it. Well done, Jimmy!
2. In the midst of all that craziness, Europe continues to show itself to be an astonishing case of relative political stability, not-withstanding the energy supply and political repercussions of Putin’s war on Ukraine. Few seem to appreciate that Germany has managed to wean itself completely off Russian energy. And the consequences of that shift for the Putin regime. And that never again it will make itself dependent on it. A superb act of self-sabotage on Putin’s part. He might end up getting parts of Ukraine but at what crazy costs. Few seem to appreciate that next year we’ll be able to celebrate 8 decades of relative peace in a part of the world that in the centuries before had seen more than its fair share of warfare. Yes, right-wingers come but they also (are made to) go, some faster than others. All the same, living in Europe means you do not end up like Navalny or the thousands of others locked away because they challenge thugs like Putin and Xi. In the grand scheme of things, the democracies in Europe continue to look better with the day. An important lesson there. There’s a reason why I have kept my German passport.
3. Talking about which. The German federal government — a coalition of Labor, Greens, and “liberals” (very small l indeed) — was brought down because the most junior partner’s party head thought it was a good idea that would get his party a leg up in the upcoming federal elections. It now looks as if that was a miscalculation and that Lindner’s FDP will not make the cut, as will Die Linke. Whatever the outcome of those elections will be (now scheduled for February rather than May), Musk won’t get what he wants much as he now also tries to do the right-wing AfD’s bidding. I’m fairly confident about that. Take that, Naomi Seibl.
4. Australia, too, has federal elections upcoming, mostly likely in May. And most likely it will lead to a minority government by Labor, with support it will have to earn from Greens, Teals, and independents such as Pollock and Lambie. The latter now being the pollie with the highest net likability rating. Go figure. Me thinkst some such minority government will be good for AU. Like Coles and Woolies Labor and LNP are a failing duopoly, and have been for quite a while.
5. China is struggling to escape the consequences of an ill-advised pandemic lockdown policy, and the continued collapse of the real-estate bubble and all the consequences that had (indebtedness of local and regional governments, huge unemployment in particular among the young, and an ever more restrictive CCP police apparatus, among other things). Another failed state in the making. Confidence in the CCP leadership, and Xi, is at a low and I don’t see how it can recover in 2025. The tariffs that Trump has threatened will affect the US of A but most likely even more Xi’s China. All of that is a good thing, given Xi’s imperialist ambitions.
6. My brutal encounter with Prague cobble-stones in mid-2023 meant months of torn, and very slowly healing, ligaments in my right ankle and persistent (aggravated) hip pain until in May of this year an mri finally identified the real cause of the latter: a calcified cyst that had attached itself unceremoniously to the spine and was pushing on the nerve. Once it got taken out, I was about 12–14 k out of pocket but immediately pain-free. Well worth every dollar. Now training for the 2028 Olympics. Yet have to decide whether for the 10m pistol competition or golf. Too bad break dancing is not on the menu any longer.
7. Just before the end of the year I had a suspected basal cell carcinom removed. Turns out it was just a skin ulcer that looked like it. Good news that although I hence yet have to acquire bragging rights to being a real Aussie (if only honorifically). Something has to give.
8. Science showed in 2024 that 70 is the new 60, and I felt better right away. And that before the good news about the suspected skin cancer.
9. I managed to sell my apartment in Prague way faster than I anticipated; still have to sort through a number of documents that I put in storage, alas … another reason to visit good ole Europe a few more times.
10. Academically it was another good year — I managed to stay on top of my research (well, mostly), teaching, Academic Board and editorial duties even though the latter was complicated by the journal (Experimental Economics, the flagship journal of the Economic Science Association) transferring from for-profit publisher Springer to not-for-profit publisher Cambridge University Press. Starting in 2025, all articles accepted for Volume 28 will be ‘open access’!
The Interesting (take this any way you like)
1. You might have noticed that my “dating games” series on medium got paused; stay tuned. Trade-offs are real.
Overall, I personally cannot complain much about 2024. I was a pretty good year. If 2025 will be anything like it, I won’t complain. We truly live in the worst of times and the best. I definitely prefer to live in the here and now.
Here’s to a fabulous 2025 to all of you!
