An Unexpected Cure: The Great Reset of the 21st Century

Despite the fact that the 20th century began with great social and technological revolutions, the world faced a great reconfiguration with the passing of two world wars. Global political and economic models had to be reshaped in ways that had not been imagined in previous decades.

About to end 2020, the reality is that we are not that far from the same scenario. The COVID-19 pandemic has become that first major event of the century that has come to paralyze most of the world's economies. The long-term socioeconomic impact and within the collective psyche can be well equated with that of an armed conflict.

This health catastrophe arises during two fundamental features: an accelerated technological revolution and social weariness of traditional political schemes. The biggest examples of this are the challenge to the financial system by the crypto market; the development of surveillance technologies in Asia and, on the social side, the not-so-distant Arab Springs.

Not everyone may agree on a cyclical model of human history, however, there are several signs that indicate that it may be time to rethink the institutions, schemes, and priorities of international agendas. The founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, highlighted that "the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine and readjust our world to create a healthier, more equitable and more prosperous future"[1] .

Image: World Economic Forum

The Great Reset

The initiative launched by the World Economic Forum seeks to promote a deep reflection of the international economic and political system in order to reorient global development towards resilient, sustainable and equitable aspects. This vision is a beginning to recognize that many of the emerging political, economic and technological phenomena have surpassed the regimes that make up the contemporary international system.

Within the multiple edges of the Great Reset agenda, we can find a focus on green energy, inclusion within global and local governance, digitization of financial systems, and "substantial reforms" both to the current capitalist model and to the social contract that governs our societies.

This perspective has been supported by leaders, such as the Canadian Prime Minister, and officials of the International Monetary Fund; mainly due to the uncertainty that COVID-19 continues to generate in the economic outlook. In the words of the Managing Director of said institution "this is the moment to decide that history will remember this as the Great Reset, not as the Great Setback"[2]; indicating that we are in decisive moments to define the course of development that we wish to take.

A viable initiative?

Many of the guidelines that are defined within this plan may be very similar to those found in existing development agendas. Since its inception, organizations such as the United Nations have established objectives or plans that have been surpassed by the lack of political will among States.

However, the difference is that now we find ourselves with a series of emerging circumstances that directly put pressure on economic stability, and even the very human security of nations. The COVID-19 pandemic may just be the catalyst for a similarly large systemic adaptation of the Bretton Woods Agreements and the San Francisco Treaty.

In this sense, the initiative could work, possibly, not within the literalness of its idealistic and somewhat utopian discourse, but in terms of its intention: to project that implicit demand for a structural reform of the political and economic model that governs us. at the moment.

A reformist discourse

From the political platform of the fourth transformation in Mexico; going through Joe Biden's foreign policy of democratic restructuring: and taking up the already well-known Chinese initiative One Belt One Road, which seeks to reorder global trade and logistics networks. The Great Reset is just one of many manifestations of a dominant trend in the political narrative of our times: change.

Image: LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images

The initiative of the World Economic Forum is an institutional position that adds to this discursive trend with a platform of equity and inclusion. However, it should be noted that it lacks a proposal that represents the demands of civil society groups that also denounce the need for transformation.

These discrepancies generate great unknowns, such as which actors or initiatives will lead the reassessment of international structures and models? Will these changes lead to a consensus or a global polarization? Will its construction and application be peaceful? Will it be a sociopolitical advance or regression compared to other historical stages?

The conjunctural role of COVID-19, beyond health issues, was to make visible and worsen many of the contradictions that the Western capitalist-democratic model had been dragging for decades. The prelude to a structural change at the local, regional and global level is practically a given.