BRETONS: What does this crisis say about our world? We finally see that our hyper-developed societies are actually very fragile?
JEAN-CLAUDE KAUFMANN: Yes, exactly. A few years ago, I wanted to titrate a book Le Syndrome du Titanic . I was convinced that we were like on the deck of the Titanic, dancing to the sound of violins, admiring the icebergs in the distance, without being aware of the extreme fragility of our societies and the looming crises. We had a somewhat distant awareness of risks, but we told ourselves that we had a capacity for control, experts in all fields, who could manage everything. However, on a whole series of subjects, our society has become extremely fragile. There is this global pandemic, but other factors can block our system. We can think of a computer virus, for example, while our society is regulated by digital and computer circuits. We can also think of the climate crisis, of course.
We were not aware of it. There is a sudden awakening. And at the same time, it is striking to note that everyone enters history, is captured, obsessed, by the latest figures on the flattening of the curve, with this question: is this a huge parenthesis in life ordinary or will the next world turn out to be different? And how long will this parenthesis last, how deep will it be? And according to the answer to these questions, we will know if it is much more than a parenthesis.
Because there are a lot of questions about the virus itself, but we will soon be talking about other problems that this health crisis will pose: the gigantic crisis that is coming - we are talking about trillions, thousands of billions of dollars for Respond to it - economic and financial, which risks creating a social crisis.
We are living in an important historic moment, very strong. And after the Yellow Vests crisis, which demonstrated the insubordination of society, that people no longer accept to obey in silence in the face of a certain number of injustices, it is striking to note the ease with which the word d The order to stay at home - even if it is not followed 100% - was followed by a large majority.
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“THIS CRISIS WILL BE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOCK OUR OLD BENCHMARKS, THE FACT THAT WE ARE IN A SOCIETY FULLY GUIDED BY THE ECONOMY.”
Do you think we are going back to the world we knew? Or do the phenomena of solidarity, the promotion of local products, short circuits, make us hope for a change?
It depends a lot on the duration of the parenthesis. If there is a miracle treatment, that the virus gets tired in the heat of summer, there may be a desire to celebrate, a desire to find a certain normalcy. In a year, we could have forgotten this extremely strange period a little.
I don't really believe in this hypothesis. We realize that the exit can not be very brief. And the beginnings of the gigantic economic crisis are underway. We left for a series of tests.
On the one hand, there will be a series of sequences of dramas and trials. But perhaps it will be an opportunity to shake up our old benchmarks, the fact that we are - or were - in a society totally guided by the economy, that is to say the selfish calculations of each. It is unthinkable to say that the functioning of a society is based on economic values which are themselves based on a vision of the individual calculator according to his interests. It's the world upside down ! And there, we could get out.
We are already seeing things: finding a form of sanitary sovereignty, short production circuits ... Elements that we will find in the next world, anyway, but perhaps much stronger. In this world of confinement, we have lost our usual bearings. It is a period of existential reflection on what founds our society, what is the meaning of life, what are the priorities, what is essential.
A number of economists speak of a recovery in V, say that after confinement, we will catch up with hyper-consumption. It is not safe at all. There may be a question about the type of society we are building. We tell ourselves that we may not have paid enough attention to health, to the location of products…
I believe that we are experiencing a sudden return to history. The society before was an entertainment society, there was not much going on, the little problems were solved by experts. And then, we were surprised by the revolt of the Yellow Vests, this France that we ignored a little, who suddenly shouted her anger at the injustices. It was already a first sign that showed that there was something wrong, a collective illusion, in society. There is a sudden awakening. We are grappling with a society that is experiencing the historic process. We can't wait to know, things are going to happen.
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Find the full interview in Bretons magazine n ° 164 of May 2020
This article is produced by Bretons magazine and hosted by 20 Minutes.
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