Позитивные изменения. Тематический выпуск «Экономика будущего» (2023). Positive changes. Special issue «The economy of the future» (2023) - страница 16

We need to set clear goals, notably to achieve sustainable development in all parts of the world. This means that all regions of the world achieve economic wellbeing, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. The globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework have established globally agreed goals, yet national governments are not on track to achieve these goals. Our global energies are being depleted by conflict and geopolitical tensions. We need to end the conflicts, achieve a true multi-polar world, and refocus on long-term investments in clean energy, education and health for all, and other key public investments for sustainable development.

In “The Price of Civilization“ you write about the importance of paying attention to the distant future and developing long-term plans. In the long run, what economic development model should we strive for and what should we do now to achieve it? We should strive for human wellbeing. That sounds simple, but in fact our political systems struggle for war, domination, hegemony, wealth, and many other misguided objectives. It would be enough to achieve peace, prosperity, justice, and environmental sustainability, without imperial objectives and without the unending risk of major war, even of nuclear war.

You were one of the creators of the Millennium Development Goals, which later became known around the world as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). What can you say about the impact of this project – in your opinion, how has the world changed thanks to the emergence of the SDGs? It is important to have globally agreed goals.

They can set humanity on a proper path. Yet our political systems do not intensively pursue the goals, even when they have been globally agreed. We are still trying to surmount the realities of military competition and alliances, and harmful interstate competition. For example, in my view, NATO should have been ended at the same time that the Warsaw Pact military alliance was ended. Europe could have achieved collective security through the OSCE. Unfortunately, the US rejected that wise course of action.

One of the most pronounced trends in the last decade has been the movement toward a social economy. It seems to be a new way of looking at economics, one that fuses together developed and developing countries, left and right, liberal and conservative, private and public. In your opinion, how viable is this trend and can we say that the future is indeed bright for the social economy? The most successful political-economic system of the 20th century was Social Democracy, especially as carried out in Scandinavia. Central planning was not successful, and the Anglo-Saxon model of neoliberalism also fails in deep ways. Yet in the 21st century, the social democratic ethos is both admired and at threat. Inequality is widening, especially in the US. The US political system is in the hands of corporate lobbies. We have no accepted global model. China has had significant successes in rapid economic development, but also faces big challenges of inequality, and hence China is now experimenting with the concept of “Common Prosperity.“ I tend to favor the idea of Sustainable Development, meaning the merger of four key ideas: 1) economic wellbeing, based on the deployment of skills and technology; 2) social justice, based on universal access to public services, quality education, and fiscal redistribution; 3) environmental sustainability, especially directed at a safe climate, sharply reduced pollution, and conservation of biodiversity; and 4) global cooperation under the UN Charter, with a multipolar global politics.