Planet under Pressure

POLITICAL LESSONS
2. situation to lead to a
Pandemics are proof
positive that we, as a
global community, are
all affected. But for the
renaissance of multilateralism, it is going
to require a common view that global
challenges can only be solved globally.
We need a new global narrative of kinship
and solidarity.
Joining together in a new spirit of unity
may seem easy if we follow the Hollywood
logic that we have seen a thousand times
before: A global peril befalls humanity,
bringing it together in its hour of need.
This plot has been cinematized countless
times, usually in connection with an
extraterrestrial menace that leads to a
new feeling of brotherhood on the planet.
Although the coronavirus pandemic is
undoubtedly a global threat, it has not led
to a resuscitation of multilateralism. Even
in the European Union, which has been
trying for decades to develop a common
post-national identity (albeit tentatively),
the first reflex was a national one. Once
the Covid-19 crisis has passed, we must
realize that pandemics, climate change,
extinction, and artificial intelligence are
challenges that can only be solved once
and for all through multilateral efforts.
3.
Democratic and federal
states are well positioned
to fight pandemics.
Even though the processes
may look complicated and arduous,
the democratic and federal state has done
a good job of mastering the crisis so far.
In Germany, the Bundestag is actively
involved in crisis management, and the
national government regularly consults
with individual, regional leadership.
Although individuals may try to make
a name for themselves in the fight for
the best approach, and although it may
not always be easy to understand why a
restriction applies in one place but not
in another, Germany’s leaders and parliamentarians
have acted appropriately and
prudently. They have kept the populace
informed and involved, and have avoided
looking for scapegoats. Moreover, local
and county officials have also been providing
information through the local
press on a regular basis, often turning to
social media. If ever there were a need
to prove how important a functioning
government with a legitimate claim to
power from the very top of the chain to
the very bottom is, then the coronavirus
crisis has done so, albeit unwittingly.
4.
Technocracy undermines
the ground rules
of how a democracy
works.
Some have argued that
virologists and doctors are the better
decision-makers. Media appearances by
experts may also have helped to calm the
debate. At the same time, it would be a
fatal mistake to draw the wrong conclusions.
As a matter of fact, only elected
representatives – and not experts – may
make decisions.
Weighing different interests, treading
carefully when it comes to decisions that
could infringe upon basic rights, and
setting priorities based on a plethora of
relevant information are of the essence.
All of that needs to be comprehensible,
well communicated, and subject to checks
and balances. Taken together, this sum
total of needs and wants is what you
would call “politics.”
5.
Populist heads of state
and government are
part of the problem,
not the solution.
It goes without saying
that populist elected officials can
be good crisis managers, just as levelheaded
democrats can fail in a crisis.
During the coronavirus crisis, populists
have displayed a pattern of behavior
that prevents successful management:
focusing on alternative facts, passing the
buck, and making off-the-cuff decisions.
All these behavioral patterns prevent
the world’s brightest minds from working
together and keep the international
community from concerting its efforts.
That makes populists part of the problem.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in
the United States, where the president,
who is completely out of his league, is
floundering his way through the crisis
and is responsible for tremendous suffering.
Whether or not this leads a majority
of voters to turn away from such narcissists
and responsibility dodgers, however,
remains to be seen. So far, some heads of
government have been quite successful
in capturing the hearts and minds of at
least half of their constituents with lies
and finger-pointing. As long as the other
half of the populace is divided into camps
or uninterested in politics, people will
continue to die due to populist public
policy – all because those opposed are
unable to attain a majority. >>
Global Goals Yearbook 2020
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