2022 was an improvement for most of the world over a bad 2021, which was better than the horrid year of 2020. But it still wasn't great.
On the positive side:
- The COVID pandemic subsided to an elevated (relative to flu) endemic level in most of the world, though deaths remain higher than would be the case if vaccination hadn't been politicized in certain countries and nationalized in others.
- Democrats maintained control of the Senate, meaning Biden will be able to continue making quality judicial appointments.
- The fascist-sounding COVID promoter Bolsonaro was defeated in Brazil, and he did not attempt to overturn the results by force.
- The Inflation Reduction Act is not a perfect climate bill, but it was an important step forward.
- JWST came online and produced spectacular images.
On the negative side:
- Putin ordered the Russian military to invaded Ukraine for no reason other than he is a bitter old man who remains traumatized by the fall of the Soviet Union 31 years ago. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed and millions more displaced as a result.
- Republicans took control of the House, which will lead to a dysfunctional US government for the next two years.
- The Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe v. Wade, ending legal abortion and degrading women's health in many states.
- A petty man-child took over Twitter, a highly influential social media site, and proceed to fire thousands and undermine the communities that depend on the site.
On the worrisome but unresolved side:
- Central bank interest rate hikes in response to elevated inflation, led by the US Federal Reserve, may help trigger a recession in 2023.
- Republicans are still threatening to use the debt limit to hold the country hostage.
- China's overly restrictive COVID policies were dramatically and impetuously near the end of the year by dictator-for-life Xi, which will probably lead to a large surge in deaths and continued disruptions in the world's second-largest economy.
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