For years, the Aix-en-Provence Economic Meetings ended with a final declaration hotly debated among the members of the Circle of Economists and largely fueled by the debates that took place over two and a half days.
But, this year is exceptional. It is obviously so at the international level, particularly through the wars which are bloodying the world. It is also in Europe where the Franco-German couple is in trouble. It is therefore this multilateralism, born of Bretton Woods, which is disappearing before our eyes, with this tendency to simplify the global situation by summarizing it in a conflict between Empires.
A word blessed by economists
Fortunately, Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, came to remind us that middle powers played and would play a very important role in the future. It is enough to have in mind the outcome of the conflict between the United States and Iran to be more lucid on this subject. But the profound changes do not stop there. They are also part of the incredible rise in desire for extremist votes.
We need to do a little sociology. The middle classes who structured the evolution of our societies for three quarters of a century now feel excluded and our societies have become deeply fractured. Our objective is to send fundamental messages that the programs of future candidates for election must necessarily take into account.
The key word of this approach is that of progress, a word blessed by economists which means improving the conditions in which we care for, house, feed and educate women and men. It is not at all obvious that progress is there at the start of the 21st century. Of course, we talk a lot about artificial intelligence without really knowing what it means and with the justified fear that it will disrupt the job market.
This shows that the combination of the feeling of marginalization of the middle classes with technological transformations does not reflect a happy development such as we have known for three quarters of a century. And yet, the voice of progress can be heard, can calm minds, can move us away from a world of violence, can make us imagine, contrary to what is often said, that new generations will live better than previous ones.
Priority to “youth policies”
To make things happen we need an actor. It is obviously the youth of our country who will allow our society to emerge from its immobility, from its denial of demographic problems, from its loss of desire to be the driving force of history.
This is why we are going to give the subject of “youth policies” a form of priority; the objective is to formulate proposals arising both from the reflections of the members of the Circle of Economists and from the 90 debates which will take place in Aix-en-Provence.
Finally, the new international order from which no one today knows what may result from it, will go through numerous sessions with the objective of restoring their full role to explicit rights and duties, but also by imagining our European world as much less bureaucratic, more flexible, authorizing multiple cooperations, that is to say by putting desire back into it.
Thus, the Rencontres d’Aix definitively becomes the leading economic and social event in Europe. It remains free, broadcast in French and English in around thirty countries with an essential mission: to ensure that the political, economic and social debate is at the level of the issues that we will experience in the coming years.
About opinions
This text is signed by a guest author. He expresses his opinion and not that of the editorial staff. Our Live section aims to allow the expression of pluralism on religious, social and current affairs subjects, and to encourage dialogue, according to the criteria set by our editorial charter.
Share your opinion in comments or by writing to us at: readers.lacroix@groupebayard.com
