The news could not be more pessimistic: climate and energy crisis, covid, war in Ukraine, growing inequality between north and south, misinformation, nationalism and populism undermining the foundations of Western democracies...
It seems that we are trapped in a diabolical spiral with no possibility of escape. However, a global survey, one of the largest that has ever been done and that La Vanguardia presents exclusively for Spain, shows that the people, the inhabitants of the world, are far ahead of their rulers and support global, progressive measures and sensible to overcome the challenges of the present.
The Open Society survey of 22 countries, most of them in Asia, Africa and Asia, although the United States and the main countries of Western Europe also appear, shows broad support for innovative proposals such as the creation of a solidarity fund to protect most vulnerable countries that would be nourished by 2% of the national budget of the richest countries. This measure has support of more than 60% in Europe, even if it implies raising taxes.
In France, where the anti-globalization movement of the Yellow Vests put the Macron government in check in 2019, support is 65%, while in the United States it is 53% despite the tremendous impact of ultra-conservative and protectionist populism in the United States. media and institutions.
This fund, in addition, must be complemented with global insurance that covers the costs of the impact of the climate crisis. This fund, which would mostly be refinanced by rich countries, has the support of half of Americans and two-thirds of Europeans.
Almost 60% of the population in Europe and the US also want the debt to the poorest countries to be cancelled, another taboo subject for the world's most powerful economies.
Crises, whether climatic, economic or energy, as 80% of the world's population understands, require a rapid response team, a very agile institution that can intervene where necessary and has the support of governments, companies, experts and any sector of society that is necessary.
These ideas, as Mark Malloch-Brown, president of the Open Society, acknowledges, have not been fully developed. It is difficult to assess the pros and cons, but, in the same way, they have not been the target of disinformation campaigns. If anything, the responses show that “if world leaders find a way to address them, populations anywhere in the world could be persuaded to support them.”
The inhabitants of the planet agree that the climate crisis is the greatest challenge, the main fracture line, along with pandemics, the war in Ukraine and social inequality now accentuated by inflation.
Despite the fact that the world is seen very differently from the south and the north, from the rich and the poor, there is a surprising consensus on how the problems are to be tackled. Although India and South Africa, for example, see it justifiable for Russia to have influence in Ukraine, most of the world believes that there will be no peace without a complete Russian withdrawal.
Along the same lines, there is general support (76%) for the creation of safe and legal corridors for migrants and refugees. Even in Europe and the US, despite the echo of the neo-fascists, this measure has majority support.
“We are closer than it seems,” says Malloch-Brown. People are more prepared than politicians to accept long-term measures that correct systemic injustice and inequality.” They support progressive policies and are suspicious of their rulers, resistant to anything that does not provide electoral benefits in four-year cycles.
They also believe that it is time to try new things. Faced with ineffective development aid, for example, they consider that it is better to put a cap on the price of food, as Europe is now doing with gas.
These initiatives are not on the agenda that will be debated at the UN General Assembly that is about to be held in New York. Nor are they in the G7 and G20. Malloch-Brown wonders why, and the answer is obvious: the governed are ahead of the governors when it comes to thinking and fixing the world.
