“Though to care we are born, yet the dullest morn often heralds in the fairest day” are lyrics from the English folk song “Hope the Hermit”. I learned to sing it in primary school at the end of World War II, and can only hope that those comforting words remain true today as we enter what looks likely to be a highly inauspicious 2026. The cry “never again” sounded more plausible 80 years ago than it does now with regard to the risk of war and an economic slump.
This might seem like a gloomy assessment of prospects for the new year, but it is a realistic one. Geopolitical tensions are high, not least between China and Japan, as well as between Europe and Russia and by extension the US. Climate change poses an existential threat, and economies are burdened by uncertainty over the future of international trade while the global financial system faces multiple threats.
Political leaders appear to possess little of the wisdom displayed by Hope the Hermit, who was “wise and good” and “whom the folks from far and near for his counsel sought, knowing well that what he taught, the dreariest of hearts would cheer”. More humility and wisdom and less nationalistic fervour from our leaders could still alter the unpromising fate of the world.
It seems we no longer value wisdom but, rather, “intelligence” – especially the artificial kind. If we bow down before anyone or anything now, it is not a wise man but instead the AI god and the supposed “magic of the marketplace”, where investors happily give billions of dollars by way of tribute rather than devoting it to climate action, disease prevention and other causes.
It is sometimes said that money is the root of all evil. We might bring that assertion up to date by arguing that the monetisation of human values and motives has become the real root of all evil today. The desire for economic growth, power and military might is driving the world towards conflict while devaluing concepts such as egalitarianism, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.
Trader Michael Pistillo wears “2026” glasses as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell in New York on December 31, 2025. Photo: AFP
This obsession with the monetisation of values can be seen in everything from the importance accorded to the profit motive as a driver of business success to the belief that economic growth and social welfare are directly linked to levels of executive pay. Anyone who believes in the supposedly old-fashioned values of equity, duty, social obligation, humanity or even charity is seen as a “loser”.