“You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don’t mess with Mister In-between.” So sang Bing Crosby in late 1944 as the Second World War raged and Allied troops were liberating Greece from the Germans. The war had turned, but it would take seven more months and Europe’s deadliest battle before Germany’s surrender. Japan’s capitulation came only after 10 more months and two atom bombs.
Optimism is a powerful weapon in troubled times. But optimism did not win that war and optimism alone cannot prevent the current economic crisis from taking an inexorable toll in lost livelihoods and shattered aspirations.
There remains a strong body of opinion in the Gulf that regards the impact of the crisis in this part of the world as an attitude problem, one that could be corrected with a little positive thinking. That view was on display this week at the Abu Dhabi Economic Forum. Some blamed the media for exaggerating the scale of the problems, creating a vicious circle of negative sentiment that is driving prices down and making matters worse.
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