According to experts from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), for the first time since its inception more than 30 years ago, the Index
Why did it happen?
According to the UN, we live in a world of unrest.The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, political conflicts, record temperatures, wildfires and hurricanes are all affecting people. Each of the factors leads to panic.
During the study, scientists identified three newinteracting levels of uncertainty on a global scale: the destabilized systems of the Anthropocene, the desire for large-scale social transformations and the increasing polarization (disunity) of society everywhere. Recall that the Anthropocene is an informal term that refers to an era with a high level of human activity affecting wildlife and playing a significant role in the Earth's ecosystem.
Human Development Index. Blue bar: global financial crisis, red bar: COVID-19 pandemic. The orange dot is the projected level of development, the red dot is the current one.
Credit: report.hdr.undp.org
It is noteworthy that the overall growthinsecurity has come amid incredible global progress (despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic) in traditional measures of well-being such as the Human Development Index.
Why now?
Life has always been uncertain.The world has faced wars, pandemics and large-scale natural disasters before. The uncertainty of today is not necessarily greater than in the past. In any case, given record gains in average living standards and incomes, as well as astonishing technological progress, one would expect people to be able to navigate times of instability more easily than before. However, people are becoming more and more worried about the future: according to the UN, 6 out of 7 people around the world feel insecure in many aspects of life.
Photo: United Nations Photo
The problem is that all the problems have combined intoa single "uncertainty complex" that destroys people's lives. The confluence of development problems is happening at a speed and scale that is many times greater than anything that humanity has faced before.
What to do?
For starters, experts suggest expanding freedomaction and human freedom in general. There is also a need to update the pattern of human behavior beyond rational self-interest. Emotions, cognitive biases and the crucial role of culture need to be taken into account.
So the UN proposed to introduce a reasonable and practical policy focused on the three "I":
—Investments(investments): it is necessary to create socio-economic conditions for the prosperity of mankind;
—Insurance(insurance): it is necessary to protect people from inevitable unforeseen circumstances in times of instability, it is also important to protect their fundamental freedoms and security;
—Innovation(innovation): create new opportunities for a brighter future.
The direction in which we move out of times of instability is up to us, the authors of the report conclude.
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Cover photo: stock