End of a decade: where liberalism, capitalism and cultural values are no more in the same basket

“A basic principle of modern state capitalism is that costs and risks are socialized to the extent possible, while profit is privatized.” –Noam Chomsky

By Udayani Shanmugavelu

Talent is the deciding factor when hiring they said, but they ended-up backing the most anti-liberal and protectionist candidate. The mere reason was evident with the quick plunge in the stock market, due to the promised tax cuts and favourable business policies.

The western world, mainly the UK and the US, were nations built by immigrants. Those countries wouldn’t have reached this far without their talent and hard work.  The liberal values incorporated in their culture have proved to be forgotten with the events unfolding, namely the US elections, Brexit and the declining popularity of liberal leaders of France and Canada. We are heading from the aspirations of globalization to nationalism and protectionism, which have had consequences of bloodshed and lost brotherhood according to history.

Is this sustainable? Can this be the long-term solution to all our problems? Can the companies risk losing the talent and contributions from one part of the world or community? Can this lead to any lasting prosperity?

Our leaders should understand that terrorism, the greatest fear of our times can only be eliminated with open dialogues by identifying the root causes, not only by guns and wars. They should understand that our fight is with the non-humane ideologies that need to be eliminated, not only the terrorists. 

Companies should think beyond gaining political advantage. It’s not only about profits, tax cuts and stock market performances, but the greater priorities of co-existence, environment, fighting climate change, etc. for the generations to come.

According to the founder of World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab, Millennials and Generation Z no longer want to work for, invest in, or buy from companies that lack values beyond maximizing shareholder value. The youth taking the lead in creating a fair society was recently evident in India, where the students stood in solidarity against the Bill which discriminates citizenship rights based on religion. 

Misinformation has become the worst enemy of unity and reconciliation between communities in this decade. It has spread on both mainstream and social media. Even though fake news has existed in our society for a long time, it was during the 2016 US Elections where this took a whole new dimension with the use of Facebook and Twitter. Bots were used to virally spread misinformation which caused hate, racism and outrage. Fighting fake news remains the top-most priority for Big Tech as we step in to this new decade. Governments should facilitate this with effective regulations to restore faith in the media, which is the fourth pillar of democracy, and the system as a whole.

The economic and social system for the future generation can only be sustained if our leaders understand their ultimate purpose towards humankind and nature, so that the world can thrive to be as free, innovative, and diverse as it is meant to be.

The writer could be reached via email at [email protected]