One of the central themes/questions in the first weeks of this course is whether the state of the world is getting or better or worse. As you know, I tended to put myself into the camp of the global optimists. But COVID-19 has sent use a clear message. See today’s NYT article.

Millions Had Risen Out of Poverty. Coronavirus Is Pulling Them Back https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/world/asia/coronavirus-poverty-unemployment.html

Experts say that for the first time since 1998, global poverty will increase. At least a half a billion people could slip into destitution by the end of the year.