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If we’re going to ‘build back better’, what are we trying to fix? — Sustainable Review
History shows how major global resets can fail poorer nations.
As I alluded to in my recent post about the ‘new Bretton Woods moment’, there’s a lot of talk about using the global pandemic as an opportunity to ‘build back better’.
The World Economic Forum, the IMF, the United Nations, government leaders and other international organizations all spoke out about the need to ‘build back better’ from the coronavirus-caused recession. This implies reshaping the way that big businesses and the global economy operates through areas like human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
A History of Inequality
History tells us that a ‘global reset’ may not fix much. Bretton Woods favored wealthy nations and exacerbated inequality as much as it alleviated poverty. Reagan’s War on Drugs propagated increased drug abuse. Bush’s War on Terror propagated more acts of terror.
The Bretton Woods conference aimed at peace and prosperity, but solved neither for developing nations. The Nixon…
