I'm still working on development aid missions, and I came across this article, written 13 years ago. Little has changed since that political analysis, except perhaps a greater withdrawal of countries (and individuals) within their borders. Global poverty and inequality remain. I'm reproducing this article to stimulate your reflection and to ask ourselves what our responsibility is in this situation.
A succession of crises over the past thirty years...
For the past thirty years, there have been numerous crises, resulting from the planet's growing population and current development patterns. Today, we are still suffering the consequences of a major financial crisis that began in the United States in 2008. This has affected access to credit and, therefore, economic activity. Economic regulatory tools exist, but the climate is unstable and not conducive to economic forecasting or even global political stability.
The benefit of successive economic crises is that they have made individuals aware of the fragile nature of an economy based on financial bubbles that create fortunes and make them disappear in seconds. But the social consequences are serious. They can be dramatic if they combine with other factors, as was the case in 2008, when the financial crisis was accompanied by the simultaneous outbreak of a major structural crisis: the depletion of non-renewable natural resources, with three equally strong and lasting components: ecological, energy, and food.
The ecological crisis is far from being a first. From the accelerated decline in the number of species to water and air pollution, and greenhouse gases, the symptoms have been accumulating for many years. They are now better understood and are beginning to become directly perceptible, from storms to floods to an increase in extreme weather events.
As for the energy crisis, it was also perfectly announced, without anything, since the "release" of the 2nd oil shock, did not come to prevent the consequences. The 3th The 2008 oil shock, although speculative in origin, was predictable because it was due to the rapidly growing demand from large countries experiencing economic take-off, such as India and China, but also to the reduction in the number of deposit discoveries and the increase in their development costs.
The energy problem has the particular consequence of increasing income inequality or penalizing those who live in rural areas and in the outer suburbs and cannot reduce the use of their vehicles or those who cannot afford to improve the thermal insulation of their homes. The increase in the cost of transport is becoming a structural factor that will be imposed on everyone. It makes a proactive policy of relocating activities all the more essential.
The food crisis was also perfectly predictable, considering the increasing population of the planet, the desertification of soils, the degradation of the fertility of at least a quarter of the world's usable land, and the emergence of disproportionate programs to cultivate crops for biofuels. Our world is once again experiencing food riots. It is seeing an increase in climate disasters, which are creating a new category of refugees. The foundation of its economy for several decades, oil, is being depleted. The shortsightedness of its political and economic system threatens the very survival of the human species.
Poor countries, hit hard, will have greater difficulty meeting the most basic needs of their populations, which endangers not only their economies, but also democracy.
…in a troubled geopolitical context…
These multidimensional crises provoke fears and generate political instability, especially since the geopolitical context has changed since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The situation is no longer the same, and this in three aspects: the replacement of a North-South trade axis by an East-West axis, the rise of extremism, the emergence of transnational companies
At the international level, several decades of development aid have failed to reduce inequalities. The crises have had a major impact on the most vulnerable populations, who are and will continue to be the first and most severely affected by insufficient access to water or quality food, reduced protection against natural disasters, increased local air pollution, and global warming.
On the other hand, some emerging countries such as the Arabian Gulf countries, China, India, Brazil, etc. now have very significant financial resources allowing them to invest massively in the global economy. They are looking for recognition on the diplomatic scene and investing in poor countries is one way to acquire this legitimacy. Especially since they find it easier to turn to countries that, not so long ago, had the same problems rather than to the former colonizing countries. New exchange networks are being established and this is not without consequences for the situation of developed countries with market economies.
Because in these countries too, inequalities persist, especially as the growing importance of energy expenditure in household budgets worsens inequalities between people, territories and professional situations.
However, in order to cope with poverty or misery, Man needs to believe that the situation will change, that tomorrow will be a better day, on this earth or... after life. Religion helped him cope with his fate. However, the legitimacy of the great monotheistic religions is being called into question by this era marked by an ever-increasing individuation. Man is becoming increasingly aware of his individuality and this movement is facilitated by possibilities of exchange and instant communication that we had never known before.
We are then witnessing two movements with, on one side, individuals who build a faith "à la carte", taking from the various religious, political or esoteric currents what suits them and rejecting the rest and thus building a belief and a unique identity; and on the other side, there are individuals who continue to attach themselves to an organization that promises them a better world in exchange for the destruction of a supposed enemy. The demagogic discourse then relies on violence and hope.
The latest phenomenon to emerge in recent decades is the rise of transnational corporations, which are uncontrollable by states, although some claim ownership without having the authority. These corporations, which represent approximately 70% of global trade, make and unmake states.
Their goal is profit maximization and to achieve this they use the means at their disposal: cheap labor from poor countries, state corruption, etc.
And we have to deal with it despite the human problems it poses. Indeed, the policies of nations are not homogeneous enough and are still too based on the search for legitimacy and power for no international policy to be implemented effectively. Currently, and because these transnational corporations are all-powerful, the means of action are more political and human than economic to reduce inequalities and establish a new society.
…Bring a paradigm shift
These crises and economic-political developments herald a revolution, a paradigm shift, a new way of seeing things.
Since the industrial revolutions, our societies have lived on the model of economic development based on the increasing, unrestrained, and very cheap use of the planet's natural resources. This was supposed to lead to happiness for all. This overly economical model is now obsolete. The evolution of the political and economic context, accompanied by a new economic revolution, that of new information and communication technologies, requires a different conception of the organization of society, based more on individual responsibility, a network logic rather than a centralized one, and an increased importance given to knowledge and qualifications.
Far from millennial fears, it's about viewing crises as a formidable lever to restore the world's humanity. Building a new development model is a fabulous adventure to which many global citizens are already committed. Greater harmony and respect for life, far from being a constraint, represent a new way of living and acting as citizens.
It's about building an open knowledge society that harnesses humanity's tremendous potential for knowledge, creativity, and innovation. A new world is emerging before our eyes, while the old one hasn't disappeared, hence the friction and conflicts that endanger humanity. This upheaval calls for creativity and solidarity.
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