A year since October 7, a month to November 5

A year after the slaughter of October 7, a month before the US elections, the world is near the point of no return. Humanity was already having to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. The increasing tension between the United States and China stoked further economic and political uncertainty, and the climate crisis was already overturning all that we knew about climate and weather. What followed October 7 in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and what the ballot box brings on November 5, will have a decisive effect on the lives of all. And the signs of what may follow are not good.

As the latest Middle East conflict develops, it is clear how much the world changed after Al Qaeda's attack on the United States on September 11, 2001. Because people grow accustomed to turmoil and danger (as long as they are not affected...