Jim O’Brien: Humanity’s sense of optimism survived the Cold War, but will a hot planet kill it off?
The baby boomers haven’t had it bad, but what about our children?
The 1980s were dour but ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 ushering in a new era. Photo: AP/John Gaps III
I was a child and a teenager in an era that was suffused with optimism. I know it’s a cliche to talk about the Swinging Sixties but it was a good time to be alive.
The Beatles, rock ’n’ roll, the explosion in youth culture and a general growth in material well-being meant more and more people never had it so good. Everything seemed to be getting better every week.
