Ten certainties in an insecure world. By Katja Gentinetta

By Katja Gentinetta

We live in the best of all possible worlds. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, 18th century philosopher and polymath, was convinced of that. He was at odds – it was the main philosophical question of the day – with free will. We had, he felt, free will so that we could choose to oppose evil. According to Leibniz, we nevertheless lived in the best of all possible worlds because God had given his best possible creation. In a world of self-determination and self-realisation, we have wonder: what world do we live in? And are we giving the best we possibly can? Hardly. And yet, there are things we can be certain of. I will name ten.

01 GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE ARE BECOMING BETTER AND BETTER OFF.

The cultural development of mankind has led to constantly improved living conditions over the millennia. Why? For Heinrich August Winkler, a German historian, the principle of power sharing – between church and state, within the state itself and between social sectors – is responsible for our civilisation’s progress. Matt Ridley, a zoologist, sees the key in the division of labour and the exchange of ideas. For Ian Morris, a British historian and archaeologist, man has turned geography to his advantage. Finally, for the evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker, the modern state and the market economy have driven back the use of force. His conclusion: we now live in the most peaceful of all possible worlds.

02 THE GREAT CATASTROPHE ALWAYS LOOMS, BUT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

In contrast to earlier times, our networks are becoming increasingly close-knit: both trade links and social safety nets. Open trade connecting us across the globe leads to more freedom, affluence and security. Most countries have opted not to restrict global trade too much with protectionism in the recent crisis years. It would have damaged everyone, and most of all themselves. We used to wage war for territory, now we do it for talent. The “weapons” were once spears and cannons, now they are wages and quality of life – and social security. These networks reduce the incentive to gamble with a more or less functioning order.

03 CAPITALISM IS NOT FINISHED, IT IS A LEARNING SYSTEM.

Capitalism is not a world independent of us, mankind or even the state. The market is composed of thousands and thousands of individual decisions. As a result, control from above does not work; it happens through all of us: as citizens and consumers. The political sphere has to set the framework, mark out and enforce boundaries. A process which is now – in the wake of the crisis – once more in full swing. Time will tell whether we are setting the right rules. We can only learn from the past. Even if mistakes happen and we face new problems: we will solve them again.

04 THE PRINCIPLES OF THE MARKET ECONOMY STILL APPLY.

A market economy needs seven basic principles, formulated by the Freiburg School in the 1930s: a functioning pricing system, the primacy of currency stability, open markets, the regulatory triad of private property, freedom of contract and liability and a certain consistency in economic policy. All these principles have been adhered to – apart from liability – at all levels: banks, individuals, states. Neglecting the principle of liability means nothing else but living on borrowed money. The objective of current regulatory measures is essentially to correct this. Once the principle of liability is back in place, many things will return to an even keel.

05 THE DECLINE OF THE WEST IS NOT IMMINENT.

Even if we doubt our societies’ future-proofness: we too will be capable of putting our house back in order. When reforms must be made, they can be made. Political will has always been – or rather, has only ever been – available when we were facing real crises: a gigantic mountain of debt, impending insolvency. Then, however, action was taken – all the socio-political reforms of the past thirty years demonstrate that. Good times have to be used to make investments – including in ideas. Bad times and crises then have to be used to implement these ideas. So it will be interesting to see what happens.

06 THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PROTECTION OF CULTURAL SPECIES.

The fear that our culture may decline while another rises is unjustified. Let us take China as an example. Its social norms and political goals will have to subject themselves to reality checks. Because ultimately, one of the greatest social experiments of all time is being conducted there: the attempt to combine economic freedom with political tutelage. This experiment is likely to fail sooner or later.

07 THE KEY LIES IN ADAPTATION AND RESISTANCE.

Every society is constantly being challenged, internally and externally. It can face up to these challenges because on the one hand it adapts, in other words integrates what appears to be valuable, and it also defends itself against things that need to be rejected. This process is salutary, because it forces us and the other side as well to constantly question our/its own position and therefore to consolidate or let go. Adaptation and resistance are the elements of development – and so far, we have mastered these well.

08 DEVELOPMENTS ARE NEVER LINEAR.

Every action triggers a counteraction. Too much state intervention provokes an increase in market forces; too much of market forces calls for more state intervention. We also react as individuals: the obvious waste of resources promotes awareness of the environment; excessive market power sparks off fair trade; hydroponics was one of the triggers of organic cultivation. We ourselves take countermeasures, every day, when it seems appropriate to us.

09 MANKIND IS UNJUST, BUT WANTS JUSTICE.

Humanity has no intrinsic sense of justice. However, it does have a reliable sense of injustice. Because we want people to be fair to us, we have created rules, refined and expanded them and made them more sophisticated over the course of history. In the long run, no one who behaves unjustly gets off scot free. That applies to transgressions in their personal sphere or an economic order as well as in the international community of states.

10 AT THE END OF THE DAY, I CANNOT RELY ON ANYONE BUT MYSELF.

Anyone who relies on others will find himself alone some day. That is true of both individuals and entire societies. Anyone who thinks he can rely on someone else to pay his bill will find out he is mistaken – sooner or later. That is why personal responsibility is indispensable. We can never just demand that of others, we have to put it firmly in place for ourselves first. We do not live in the worst of all possible worlds. Nor do we live in the best. We live in the world we create. For Leibniz, God created the world. Today, we do. It is up to us to establish a shared order. And every individual has to make his or her contribution to that.

Katja Gentinetta is a political philosopher. The author and television presenter lectures in public affairs at the University of St. Gallen and hosts the “Sternstunde Philosophie” talk show on philosophy on Swiss television. As Deputy Director of the Swiss think tank Avenir Suisse, she has published several books on topics related to the welfare state. For further information visit: www.katja-gentinetta.