According to Wikipedia, Economics is the “social science that studies the production processes, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services in the context of the competitive allocation of (scant) resources”, and Politics is “the decision-making process in human groups, the methods for winning and keeping the support of people to carry out a group action”.
In essence, then, we’re speaking of deciding and leading complex processes and human groups towards a collective good, obviously using democratic methods and with the appropriate knowledge and judgement to achieve the aims, and also with the ability to explain it very well. These are really difficult tasks in a group, highly difficult tasks in a country, and very complex and extraordinarily difficult in the world, where the (legitimate) interests of countries, business and people are absolutely opposite.
We are going through times of political and economic disorientation… but what did we think? That it was better before? No, that’s not so. What’s happening is that information and communication technology (ICT) has broken down the space-time barrier so that today we know everything, every second and with no limits to where on the planet. We no longer need transport, or days or weeks, to know what just happened on the other side of the world a few moments ago. This has led to the governments of a number of countries being overwhelmed by events that overtake them in speed and volume, which is a new aspect that needs to be taken into consideration in economic and political management. Just a few decades ago, a century at the very most, we didn’t know what was happening hundreds of kilometres from home until after a few days had passed. In the same way, it took us time to act. That doesn’t happen nowadays.
But what do I mean by all this? Well, that technology also allows us to act globally, for good and for bad; what hasn’t changed is the ability to decide and lead, in other words, to do politics and economics, albeit with global dimensions. “Think globally, act locally” has to enable us to take decisions taking into account the world we live in, but act according to our needs.
When night falls and you see the Barcelona city lights, you know it’s a city that has a place in the world. When you see that we have a productive infrastructure in Catalonia with sufficient capacity to tackle the crisis, you know that sooner or later we’ll get through this. When you see our people striving to seek solutions to the economy, you’re convinced they’ll find them. No, I’m no teenager who turns their hopes into dreams, but I want to believe in my country: what’s more, I do. I believe in my country, in its people and their striving, and I believe that it’s time to do politics and economics with our vision focused on the highest aspirations but without thinking that anyone’s going to give us anything for free. (ICT Companies in Catalonia)
Take a close look at the Mediterranean arc of the Iberian Peninsula.
And as I believe in my country, I would also like the media to focus more on explaining this, economics and politics, to exercise not only their right to inform but also their obligation to disseminate and to educate. Nowadays, events happen very quickly and it’s difficult to follow them, which is why we need the didactics of the media, along the lines of CNN or the BBC . The CorporaciĂł Catalana de RĂ dio i TelevisiĂł (CRTV) also has some good examples, such as GeneraciĂł Digital and Banda Ampla, but we need to add more of this content to the TV news and even to entertainment programmes.
We need the economic and financial sector to address the people and explain the difficulties we find ourselves in and the possible ways out of them. Or won’t we all end up paying for the mistakes of the good times? We also need more sensitivity from the banks and savings banks to provide support to SMEs and entrepreneurs, which are the basis of our economy.
And the political class? No, I’m not forgetting that, among other things because I’ve now been an active part of it for ten months. We in the political class need courage, dedication and to take decisions, even when they’re tough, painful and not particularly pleasant. What’s difficult in these cases is to tell the people who are affected that they won’t live better in the times to come for reasons that aren’t their fault. Obviously, we need to look for palliative systems so that the painful measures affect those most harshly affected by the crisis as little as possible.
Because this crisis is different from all the ones that there have been until now. Although the stock markets have always had their share of speculation, they served the principle of companies seeking capital. In fact, we could see the first recent speculative crisis as the dot.com crisis in 2000, when companies were valued higher than what they were really worth. It’s rather worse today: there’s been speculation with sovereign debt, that of countries, and therefore with money to return that, put simply, doesn’t exist. Shoring up this gap will be very difficult, and no one knows when or how it will happen.
The most complex part of this situation is that we can’t stand still: we have to decide and lead, with conviction, without all the possible data; without knowing the future or having a past; in a new world; caring for those who are left behind but forging ahead. There’s no longer room for misguided attitudes, we need to move forward. But where to? No one has the right answer and everyone’s got opinions, but in economics and politics, the worst decision is not to decide, not to lead. I am convinced that the changes we’re seeing in the world, in Europe or in Catalonia, both in economics and in politics, will be for the good and will enable us to start to see a long and tough future, but one that will lead to a new society, different from the one we’ve known, a new system in which thinking globally, we’ll act locally. Anxious about the future, yes, of course, but convinced that with the hard work of our heads and hands and with all our energy, we Catalans, as always, will provide an example of how to build this new society.Segons la Wikipèdia, Economia Ă©s la “ciència social que estudia els processos de producciĂł, la distribuciĂł, el comerç i el consum de bĂ©ns i serveis en el context de l’assignaciĂł competitiva de recursos (escassos )”, i PolĂtica, “el procĂ©s de presa de decisions en grups humans, els mètodes per guanyar i conservar el suport de les persones per realitzar una acciĂł en grup”.
En el fons, doncs, estem parlant de decidir i dirigir processos complexos i grups humans cap a un bĂ© col·lectiu, òbviament amb mètodes democrĂ tics i amb el coneixement i el senderi adients per assolir els objectius, i tambĂ© sabent explicar-ho molt bĂ©. SĂłn tasques realment difĂcils en un grup, altament difĂcils en un paĂs, i molt complexes i extraordinĂ riament difĂcils en el mĂłn, on els interessos (legĂtims) de paĂŻsos, empreses i persones sĂłn absolutament contraposats.
Vivim moments de desorientaciĂł polĂtica i econòmica, però… què ens pensem? Que abans tot era millor? No, no Ă©s aixĂ; el que passa Ă©s que les tecnologies de la informaciĂł i la comunicaciĂł (TIC) han trencat la barrera de l’espai-temps, i avui ho sabem tot, a cada segon i sense limitaciĂł en l’espai del globus terraqui. No calen transports, ni dies o setmanes, per saber el que acaba de passar a l’altra banda del mĂłn fa tan sols uns minuts. Aquest fet ha provocat que els governs del diversos paĂŻsos s’hagin vist desbordats per fets que els superen en velocitat i volum, aspecte nou a tenir en compte en la gestiĂł econòmica i polĂtica. NomĂ©s fa unes dècades, un segle a tot estirar, no sabĂem què passava a centenars de quilòmetres de casa fins al cap d’uns dies, de la mateix manera que trigĂ vem a actuar, fet que avui no succeeix.
Què vull dir amb tot això? Doncs que la tecnologia tambĂ© permet actuar globalment, per bĂ© i per mal; el que no ha canviat Ă©s la capacitat de decidir i dirigir, Ă©s a dir, de fer polĂtica i economia, això sĂ, amb dimensions globals. “Pensar global, actuar local” ens ha de permetre prendre decisions tenint en compte el mĂłn on vivim, però actuar segons les nostres necessitats.
Quan es fa de nit i veus els llums de la ciutat de Barcelona, saps que Ă©s una ciutat que tĂ© un lloc en el mĂłn; quan veus que tenim a Catalunya un teixit productiu amb capacitats suficients per fer front a la crisi, saps que tard o d’hora ens en sortirem; quan veus que la nostra gent s’esforça a buscar solucions a l’economia, tens el convenciment que les trobarem. No, no sĂłc un adolescent que fa dels seus desitjos somnis, però vull creure en el meu paĂs; Ă©s mĂ©s, hi crec. Crec en el meu paĂs, la seva gent i el seu esforç, i crec que Ă©s hora de fer polĂtica i economia amb els ulls posat en les mĂ©s altes aspiracions, però sense pensar que ens regalaran res. (Les empreses TIC a Catalunya)
Fixeu-vos en l’arc Mediterrani dela PenĂnsula Ibèrica.
I com que crec en el meu paĂs, tambĂ© voldria que els mitjans de comunicaciĂł se centressin mĂ©s a explicar això, economia i polĂtica, per exercir no nomĂ©s el seu dret a informar sinĂł la seva obligaciĂł de divulgar, d’ensenyar. Avui dia, els fets van molt rĂ pid i costa seguir-los, per la qual cosa necessitem la didĂ ctica del mitjans de comunicaciĂł, a l’estil de la CNN o la BBC. La CorporaciĂł Catalana de RĂ dio i TelevisiĂł (CRTV) tĂ© tambĂ© bons exemples, com ara el de GeneraciĂł Digital, o el de Banda Ampla, però caldria incorporar molts d’aquest continguts als TelenotĂcies i fins i tots als programes d’entreteniment.
Ens cal que el sector econòmic i financer s’acosti a la població i expliqui les dificultats amb què ens trobem i les possibles vies de solució. O no acabem pagant els ciutadans els errors d’èpoques de vaques grasses? També ens cal més sensibilitat de bancs i caixes per donar suport a les pimes i als emprenedors, que són la base de la nostra economia.
I la classe polĂtica? No, no me la deixo, entre d’altres coses perquè ja fa deu mesos que en formo part activa. A la classe polĂtica ens cal valentia, dedicaciĂł i prendre decisions, fins i tot quant aquestes son difĂcils, doloroses i poc agradables. El difĂcil en aquests casos Ă©s explicar a la gent afectada que no viuran millor els propers temps, per fets dels quals no en tenen la culpa. Ă’bviament, cal cercar sistemes pal·liatius per tal que les mesures doloroses afectin el menys possible als que pateixen mĂ©s cruament els efectes de la crisi.
I Ă©s que aquesta crisi Ă©s diferent de totes les que han existit fins avui. Si bĂ© els mercats borsaris sempre han tingut la seva dosi d’especulaciĂł, servien al principi de la cerca de capitals per part de les empreses. De fet, la primera crisi especulativa recent la podrĂem situar en les .com l’any 2000, quan es varen valorar les empreses per mĂ©s del que valien realment. Avui Ă©s força pitjor: s’ha especulat amb el deute sobirĂ , el dels estats, i per tant amb diners a tornar que, per explicar-ho d’una manera simple, no existeixen. Tapar aquest forat costarĂ molt, i ningĂş sap ni quan ni com es farĂ .
El mĂ©s complex d’aquesta situaciĂł Ă©s que no podem estar parats: hem de decidir i dirigir, amb fermesa, sense totes les dades possibles; sense saber el futur ni tenir antecedents; en un mĂłn nou; vetllant pels que es queden enrere però tirant endavant. Ja no valen actituds desorientades, cal avançar! Però cap a on? NingĂş te la resposta correcta i tothom tĂ© opinions, però en economia i polĂtica, la pitjor decisiĂł Ă©s no decidir, no dirigir. Estic convençut que els canvis que estem vivint en el mĂłn, a Europa o a Catalunya, tant en economia com en polĂtica, seran a fi de bĂ© i ens permetran començar a veure un futur llarg i dur, però que portarĂ a una nova societat diferent de la que hem conegut, a un nou sistema en el qual pensant globalment, actuarem localment. Amb neguit pel futur, sĂ, Ă©s clar, però convençut que amb l’esforç de les nostres mans i caps, i amb tota la nostra energia, els catalans, com sempre, donarem exemple de com construir aquesta nova societat.