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The difficult year 2020 showed how fragile our world is. It also showed us what is most important when it’s scary. Have we learned our lesson? Analysis by Ivaylo Dichev for Deutsche Welle.
The difficult year 2020 showed how fragile our world is. The fight against the virus will continue for a long time. Almost half of the French and Bulgarians do not want to be vaccinated, and in many countries they have begun to consider sanctions for those who refuse. Where did this resistance to the only hope we came from? So far, nearly 84 million coronavirus cases worldwide, of which more than 1.8 million are fatal. At the same time, of the six million vaccinated, zero died. Can reasonable people fear reddening of the skin?
Anti-hair removal cyberfolklore is not the only explanation. In my opinion, the incredibly high cost of living plays a big role here. The same fear for all human beings that caused the global mobilization against the virus today turns against vaccines: have they been tried enough? Won’t they cause autoimmune diseases after 2, 3, 20 years? And who will answer, if something happens, why make me sign a declaration of consent? Of course, nothing can be 100% guaranteed, but it seems that our own ability to take risks has changed – we expect Grandpa God to follow our insurance policy.
The collapse of modern societies
The crisis has made the disintegration of modern societies visible. The losing Trump came to discuss the imposition of martial law to cancel the elections. The European Union was blocked by a veto: Cyprus suspended the sanctions against Belarus to solve its problem with Turkey; Hungary and Poland, because they wanted to avoid linking EU funds to the rule of law trampled there; In the end, Bulgaria retaliated by vetoing North Macedonia for not loving it enough, and thus in three days the government accomplished what Tito took 30 years. Leaving the UK, on the other hand, points us to one of the reasons for the disintegration of political alliances: the commercial turn in politics, announced in a direct text from Trump. Instead of enduring and supportive alliances, these leaders envision constant renegotiation, as is the case with the stable.
On his New Year’s Twitter account, Israeli historian Yuval Harari wished the failed policy would catch up with the science, which today is marking unprecedented success in the fight against the virus. Should we have hope? Biden’s victory in the presidential election offers hope of restoring Western unity on issues such as Kovid and climate change, Russian hackers and Iran’s nuclear program. All observers believe that the rivalry between the United States and China will not go away, and here is their surprise: a trade agreement between the EU and China. The celestial communist empire agrees to open its markets to our investments, which could be a sign of a gradual normalization of the international business climate. But we don’t know how Washington will accept this.
Reforms and civil unrest
Unfortunately, no reforms are being established in Europe. Macron’s ideas for the abolition of consensus solutions and the possibility for the Union to pursue real policy have clearly collapsed under pressure from German companies. In fact, the problem is the heterogeneity of our union: countries like Bulgaria are far from the world and do not have positions on any policy, they simply do not want to make fun of them. Is leaving Eurosceptic UK an opportunity to toughen up? Or vice versa: does a successful Brexit run the risk of setting a bad example for countries like Sweden? New issues for 2021.
The problem facing our world is its increasing unmanageability. They go on to cite as an example the radical way in which China has dealt with the pandemic, as opposed to democracies ravaged by covid unrest and alternative narcissistic diner theories. If you look back, you will realize that the last decade has been a time of constant civil unrest, from the Arab Spring to “Black Lives Matter” and from Gezi Square in Istanbul to Nezavisimost Square in Sofia. The same has happened with intolerance to disease and death: civil intolerance to all the mistakes of the rulers has increased. Take France, for example, a seemingly innocuous law designed to prevent police officers from being photographed in action, causing riots and riots. For modern democratic societies to be governed, a radical change is clearly needed: transparency, consultation, direct citizen participation.
The time has come for the reform of social networks, which contribute to the radicalization of societies and hinder the development of common understandings and goals. No one knows how we can return to a world of media responsibility without violating freedom of expression, but the conversation on the subject has obviously begun. In the United States, for example, both parties want to remove the notorious Section 230 of the Decency Act, which says platforms are not responsible for the content they upload. By the way, Twitter has already started to notice when Trump is lying. If we combine the need for greater civic participation with a more structured public debate, can we strengthen modern democracies that are collapsing?
Bulgaria and ubiquitous populism
In Bulgaria, the Borissov government was delegitimized last year by scandals and protests. As a result, the state was put on autopilot. Along with the chaotic measures against the pandemic, which claimed 1 in 1,000 Bulgarian lives (more than 7,000 out of nearly 7 million), we saw a failed and populist pension model, in which 50% of people will receive the same money, regardless of whether and how much they were insured. We were severely criticized in the European Parliament, we joined the union outsiders. Strengthened in its new Party House, the ruling party mocked the Bulgarian Constitution and kept journalists in the basement. They stopped European enlargement to the south-western Balkans, which is in our vital interest; no one understood exactly what we wanted from our unfortunate neighbor, who could become the only country close to us in a European Union where we have no friends.
Many people hope that in the growing wave of discontent, GERB will finally give way to parties with a new legitimacy won in elections. What worries everyone is that the opposition forces do not seem to think about how they will govern. The well-known sectarian battle for moral purity reigned without thinking about what should be achieved by political action. And it is not easy, starting with the long-awaited reform of the judiciary, which requires a qualified majority, and ending with the much more difficult, to overcome ubiquitous populism. Because it will not be easy to stop the unprincipled distribution of money, the targeting of people against refugees and Gypsies, the redirection of attention from King Samuel to Corridor 8, the cretinization of audiences with loyal media.
Populism is decadence: you give who you want, you say what you like, you spin in the wind day after day. However, critical 2020 must have taught us that when it is scary, unity and responsibility are paramount.
