Pay it Forward
The year gone by has brought about unprecedented change and it would not be incorrect to say that the world would never be the same again. With that thought in mind, it makes me wonder, do we really want it to be same again!
Of course in some ways we would want us to roll back to 2019 and more than anything else we would want to get our loved ones back. Our people who were so full of life and who made our lives so much richer and livable by just being there have been taken away in an untimely manner and to come to terms with it for such a large portion of collective humanity will certainly not come easy. If only we were able to roll the clock back!
That brings us back to the question, Do we really want to go back (to the normal ways of living) or can we create a path forward, which doesn’t require us to retrace (the normal ways of living)? While we have made great progress over the last century, across all walks of life as a collective human race, a few things certainly come to mind which give us significant food for thought as we reflect on the kind of World we would want to build and the road which would take us there, as we move past this once in a lifetime pandemic.
Ensuring Equitable Development- while, this has been a universal area of concern, the pandemic took the cover off and exposed the seriousness and scale of the problem. Even though the loss of life on account of the pandemic was more in middle and upper middle classes, the pandemic did more damage to those at the bottom of the pyramid by depriving them of their livelihood, taking away access to education and making access to healthcare impossible, thus making survival a challenge. According to World Bank around 150 million people across the world are expected to be pushed into extreme poverty on account of the pandemic. While emerging markets have been the hardest hit on account of years of neglect in welfare spending, the pandemic has exposed fault lines of inequitable development, even in the developed nations. The global economy shrank anywhere between 5–7% of Global GDP last year. In sharp contrast, the wealth of Billionaires increased by a staggering 54%. From providing direct cash transfers to providing subsidized food, several measures have been taken by govts across the world. However all these are short term measures, unlikely to result in any course correction with respect to ensuring a sustainable and equitable development for all. Long term measures such as raising minimum wages or coming up with the concept of a universal basic income are the key to bringing sustainable change and ensuring that people who didn’t get an opportunity to educate themselves, can still earn a fair living in this life and are able to provide an opportunity for their children to educate themselves and do what they couldn’t do, in their life time.
Moving away from Conspicuous Consumption- there is no denying the fact that it is consumption which keeps the wheels of economy moving. We surely need to get them moving again to put the world economy back in the growth mode. At the same time what is also needed from the ‘haves’ is a reflection at their consumption patterns. Technology and scientific innovations have made life easier, comfortable, and pleasurable. However they have also made us lazier and individualistic. This has led to a consumption boom, which has broadly been beneficial for the mankind but has also spawned conspicuous consumption which creates problems at several levels from exposing income inequalities leading to conflict to creating an unsustainable environment. That brings me to my next point.
Adopting Sustainability & Environment Protection: from the evolution of Homo sapiens some 50000 years ago, we have indeed come a long way. Our beautiful planet, is so much more livable today than it has ever been for any of our ancestors. However we can’t ignore the fact all this development, which we are so proud of has come at a price. Our indiscriminate use of natural resources and our callous ways of living has taken a severe toll on our beautiful planet. Living in a delusion, that we have time, is over. We need to act now and course correct if we wish to continue living a blissful life, which we are so used to. Whether it is re-cycling, reducing the use of fossil fuels, using renewable energy or moderating consumption, we need to do everything individually and collectively to ensure we leave the planet in a better shape for our future generations, than we found it.
Embracing Diversity & Inclusion: The last century saw the instrumental role played by forces of Industrial revolution, Globalization, Internet and the Covid Pandemic in bringing the human race together. However there have also been opposing forces at play, creating deep chasms & undoing the gains realized, by dividing people along every possible axis. Men Vs women, Whites Vs Colored, Binary Vs Non-Binary, Christianity Vs Islam, the list is endless! Several irrational arguments are made by divisive people, proclaiming superiority for themselves. Irrespective of the numerous arguments made against diversity, there can only be one rational argument in support of diversity i.e. A fundamental right of every human being to be allowed to lead a life of dignity. Some may say why should we invest in creating a diverse society for the benefit of a few, when it is easier to go with a majority or a popular view of the world, depending upon where you are. It is this thinking which has given rise to conflicts, both physical and emotional and the toll it is taking on humanity and its happiness is for all to see.
The choice is with us now, but we may not have it for a long time! The year gone by, however tough it has been, has opened our eyes to our flaws and exposed our rough edges. It has also presented us with a once in a lifetime opportunity to course correct to ensure a sustainable, fertile and harmonious future for us and for generations to come. We, as the most evolved species on this planet owe to it ourselves, the rest of the species and the coming generations, to Pay it forward.
