The Great Reset is capitalism’s mid-life crisis: a radical plan to overhaul the global economy, presented by the World Economic Forum, which promises to make the world more inclusive, sustainable and digital. It’s the kind of great idea you might come up with after three espressos and a TED Talk binge.
Simply put, the Great Reset is a plan to rebuild the global economy after the pandemic. Think of it as capitalism’s attempt to go green by rethinking everything from how we work to what we value. Cars? left. Material goods? All rented; nothing owned. Green energy on every block? You bet.
“You own nothing and you will be happy” is the controversial rallying cry behind these guys.
For years, the WEF has supported the Great Reset, but WEF founder Klaus Schwab is now focusing on a new plan called “The Great Narrative.” The book is divided into four solutions: 1) economic, 2) environmental, 3) social and 4) technological. Here’s what they want.
The Economic Manifesto
““Times of unprecedented change, with major economic, environmental, geopolitical, social and technological challenges coinciding and amplifying each other, require unprecedented action.”—Klaus Schwab
Many economic solutions in “The Great Narrative” sound like communism. The government owns everything; you own nothing. If you are not satisfied, there is the Ministry of Love to show you the right path.
The book addresses several ugly economic truths:
- Post-Covid-19, we see a V-shaped recovery in most global powers, but no recovery in emerging markets, such as Mexico and Brazil.
- Economic growth is slowing at all levels.
- Rampant inflation.
- National currencies compete with cryptocurrencies.
“The Great Reset” was about eliminating private property by moving to a rental-centric economy like a giant Airbnb. “The Great Narrative” is about promotion multipolarity instead of unipolarity. Multipolarity means putting an end to the current US hegemony, making room for new actors such as China, India, developing African countries and the EU.
“What we face is a profound, systemic, structural restructuring of our world,” says Schwab.
Environment: the biggest problem?
Will ESG criteria “remain a fiction”? until an effective global carbon tax is imposed, consistent ESG standards will not be implemented and a wide-ranging set of regulations will penalize bad behavior.” — The Grand Narrative
Much of the “Grand Narrative” focuses on the environment. Schwab argues that we are failing to deliver on our collective commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. The solutions of the “Grand Narrative” are the following:
- Force all companies to adopt environmental social governance (ESG) standards through a top-down authority.
- Normalize ESG criteria so that people don’t work for a company that doesn’t promote them or buy from a company unless they comply with ESG criteria.
- Moving from a consumer economy to a sharing economy.
As I read the book I asked myself: “Don’t environmental objectives clash with economic ones?” It could harm both of you. Something to consider.
Society: The biggest challenge is inequality
“The Great Narrative” sees many societal problems, such as historically low trust in public institutions and a disconnect between the value of a job and its pay.
It’s hard not to agree with all of this. Movements such as “quitting quitting” and “anti-work” reached a fever pitch last year. Something broke within us after the pandemic, as in the case of Christian Bale American psycho.
The “Grand Narrative” solutions are as follows: “a broader, if not universal, provision of social assistance, social insurance, health care and quality basic services… also, a critical aspect of a new social contract relating to freedoms and to freedom, at least in democratic countries.”
Universal basic income. Eh. What do you think?
Technology: Civil liberties will vanish ‘to save society’
“Sometimes the same technological change can be viewed optimistically by some and pessimistically by others.” — Excellent narration
There are 700 million CCTV cameras in China. Smile for the government.
“The Great Narrative” praises technological innovation such as artificial intelligence, automation, the Internet of Things, bioinformatics and blockchain, but also claims that these things could destroy privacy and civil liberties, and they they want.
At least they’re honest.
Final thought
“The Great Narrative” is striking because it relies heavily on interviews with 50 global thinkers, most from institutions based in the United States and the United Kingdom. This bias towards the Western world has led to a one-sided perspective and a clear left-wing political ideology in the book.
That said… I think many of the issues outlined in the book need to be addressed.
Yet the whole “we are facing multiple existential crises and need top-down control faster than ever” narrative is a fast ticket to fascism. While “The Great Narrative” is thought-provoking, it should be taken with a grain of salt, like everything WEF does.
EXPLORE: Who is Ray Dalio? Founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, latest to back Bitcoin
Join the 99Bitcoins News Discord here for the latest market updates
The post Forget “The Great Reset,” Embrace the “Grand Narrative” appeared first on 99Bitcoins.