How did they manage this? How did Europe’s governing elites get away with it? His answer: they pulled it off by focusing on new horizons, so it looked like they had moved on and left the old problems behind. In reality, they rather ignored most of those problems and left them unsolved, by choosing a new narrative and drawing attention to future developments and opportunities.
The real new story distracting us from the current crisis mood, then, had better be about what Europe and its member states really need.
As I see it, this column is about the similarities and differences of crisses in the past and now. By highlighting what went wrong and what went right, we should be able to have a better focus on how to deal (or how not to deal) with current crises. In the past, inequality, famine economic exploitation, social malaise, crop failures, were a contributing factor. So though 2024 and 1848 are not the same; our current crisis shares similar trends: inequality, dwindling resources, climate change, resurgence of nationalism and war.
The elite in the past and some of them now, want to maintain their control and the status quo, by providing a ( false) narrative, whilst distracting us from finding a solution. An easy fix to war migration & climate problem doesn’t exist, but we could start addressing those issues that could be tackled, like the growing inequality.
This column carries also a warning. If we let our selves get distracted, the elite will simply create a “new horizon”, a false promise, albeit globalisation or a new economic deal, etc But their tomorrow would be one without tackling and changing what needed to be tackled yesterday.
Added: maybe it’s important to highlight another similarity, “misinformation”. Those narratives in the past which distracted us, are also distracting us now via the mis- and disinformation campaigns on social media, and by many Political actors and autocrats.