Contemporary dilemmas: divisiveness, growth and social cohesion
A recently published book analyses our current situation and its possible outlooks
Much more connected yet extremely divided – a critical condition that diminishes the chances for growth (and not only in economic terms) and social cohesion, as well as positive feelings towards the future. Here is where the tangle of issues and difficulties faced by Western social and economic systems lies. It needs to be taken seriously and to be fully understood. This is why Un mondo diviso. Come l’Occidente ha perso crescita e coesione sociale (A world divided. How growth and social cohesion have declined in the West) makes for useful reading – it is a superlative and informative work by Eugenio Occorsio and Stefano Scarpetta (the former is a journalist, the latter is the Director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Directorate at OECD).
This book provides a clear analysis of what has happened in the Western world due to the growing gap in income and assets, very limited social mobility and a strained middle class. A situation highly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged and disrupted the world as we know it. The two authors examine the past and explore what has changed after these last two years. Above all, they wonder whether the measures adopted by governments worldwide have succeeded in containing the impact on the most vulnerable areas of society and look at which opportunities and challenges we now face in order to rebuild a fairer economy.
The work is structured over nine sections: a snapshot of rising inequalities, the analysis of how the so-called “social mobility elevator” broke down, an exploration of “growth”, the depiction of a distraught middle class, an outline of opportunities, a piece on the theme of redistribution and one on training and education, and finally an investigation on the condition of younger people followed by a close examination of gender gap issues. The conclusion drawn suggests that we can expect some positive prospects in the future, but that these will only be seized by those who “have the tools” to do so.
This is not just due to the events occurred in the past two years, the authors emphasise, although the pandemic has caused the worst health crisis of the century, as well as a vicious economic and social crisis that has raged against the most vulnerable areas of society, such as low-skilled and temporary workers, migrants, women and young people. Discrepancies have become starker and the consequences threaten to be long-term.
Of course, Occorsio and Scarpetta also ask themselves how a supportive social fabric and a fairer economic system can be rebuilt. The answer lies in being able to imagine a better world that even surpasses the one we just left behind, and attempt to fix the framework itself, not merely solve temporary issues.
Occorsio and Scarpetta’s work features a great quality: it narrates and explains complex and serious problems using a clear and comprehensible language, which is no small matter.
Un mondo diviso. Come l’Occidente ha perso crescita e coesione sociale (A world divided. How growth and social cohesion have declined in the West)
Eugenio Occorsio, Stefano Scarpetta
Laterza, 2022
A recently published book analyses our current situation and its possible outlooks
Much more connected yet extremely divided – a critical condition that diminishes the chances for growth (and not only in economic terms) and social cohesion, as well as positive feelings towards the future. Here is where the tangle of issues and difficulties faced by Western social and economic systems lies. It needs to be taken seriously and to be fully understood. This is why Un mondo diviso. Come l’Occidente ha perso crescita e coesione sociale (A world divided. How growth and social cohesion have declined in the West) makes for useful reading – it is a superlative and informative work by Eugenio Occorsio and Stefano Scarpetta (the former is a journalist, the latter is the Director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Directorate at OECD).
This book provides a clear analysis of what has happened in the Western world due to the growing gap in income and assets, very limited social mobility and a strained middle class. A situation highly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged and disrupted the world as we know it. The two authors examine the past and explore what has changed after these last two years. Above all, they wonder whether the measures adopted by governments worldwide have succeeded in containing the impact on the most vulnerable areas of society and look at which opportunities and challenges we now face in order to rebuild a fairer economy.
The work is structured over nine sections: a snapshot of rising inequalities, the analysis of how the so-called “social mobility elevator” broke down, an exploration of “growth”, the depiction of a distraught middle class, an outline of opportunities, a piece on the theme of redistribution and one on training and education, and finally an investigation on the condition of younger people followed by a close examination of gender gap issues. The conclusion drawn suggests that we can expect some positive prospects in the future, but that these will only be seized by those who “have the tools” to do so.
This is not just due to the events occurred in the past two years, the authors emphasise, although the pandemic has caused the worst health crisis of the century, as well as a vicious economic and social crisis that has raged against the most vulnerable areas of society, such as low-skilled and temporary workers, migrants, women and young people. Discrepancies have become starker and the consequences threaten to be long-term.
Of course, Occorsio and Scarpetta also ask themselves how a supportive social fabric and a fairer economic system can be rebuilt. The answer lies in being able to imagine a better world that even surpasses the one we just left behind, and attempt to fix the framework itself, not merely solve temporary issues.
Occorsio and Scarpetta’s work features a great quality: it narrates and explains complex and serious problems using a clear and comprehensible language, which is no small matter.
Un mondo diviso. Come l’Occidente ha perso crescita e coesione sociale (A world divided. How growth and social cohesion have declined in the West)
Eugenio Occorsio, Stefano Scarpetta
Laterza, 2022