I think it is safe to say that 2020, so far, has been a tumultuous year. I think it is also safe to say that many globalists view these tumultuous times as an opportunity to enact vast public policy changes that would upend the current world order.
Exhibit A of my premise: The Great Reset. At this point, you may be thinking, “What is the Great Reset?” Well, where do we begin?
For starters, let us venture to the origin of the Great Reset: The World Economic Forum (WEF). According to the WEF, “There is an urgent need for global stakeholders to cooperate in simultaneously managing the direct consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. To improve the state of the world, the World Economic Forum is starting The Great Reset initiative.”
So, “global stakeholders,” aka elites connected to WEF and other worldwide organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), would like to take it upon themselves to “improve the state of the world.” Apparently, WEF and IMF bigwigs do not suffer from humility.
But, let's dig deeper. What does all of this mean? Under “The Context” header, WEF describes the “necessity” of its grand plan. “The Covid-19 crisis, and the political, economic and social disruptions it has caused, is fundamentally changing the traditional context for decision-making. The inconsistencies, inadequacies and contradictions of multiple systems—from health and financial to energy and education—are more exposed than ever amidst a global context of concern for lives, livelihoods and the planet. Leaders find themselves at a historic crossroads, managing short-term pressures against medium- and long-term uncertainties.”
Ok, I am already confused. How is the coronavirus actually “changing the traditional context for decision-making?” Does COVID-19 render our brains incapable of making decisions the way humans have for hundreds, if not thousands, of years? Does coronavirus have the ability to rewire our brains so that we fail to “make decisions” as we always have?
And that quip about “multiple systems” being “more exposed than ever amidst a global context of concern for lives, livelihoods and the planet” is hyperbole at its worst. Last I checked, the world has been exposed to several far more dangerous events than the coronavirus over the past few centuries, such as two world wars, massive famines, and the birth of Al Gore (just kidding).
And the reason we (meaning humanity, in general) persevered through these horrible events is because we have multiple systems, not in spite of this. In actuality, most of our recent wars—which have killed hundreds of millions—were fought to save our precious “multiple systems” from evaporating under one mono-system. Ask yourself this, did Hitler or Stalin believe in multiple systems? I think not.
Next, under the header, “The Opportunity,” the architects of the Great Reset state the following. “As we enter a unique window of opportunity to shape the recovery, this initiative will offer insights to help inform all those determining the future state of global relations, the direction of national economies, the priorities of societies, the nature of business models and the management of a global commons. Drawing from the vision and vast expertise of the leaders engaged across the Forum’s communities, the Great Reset initiative has a set of dimensions to build a new social contract that honours the dignity of every human being.”
First question, who are these leaders with self-proclaimed vision and vast experience who are going to build a new social contract as well as direct national economies, societal priorities, and most absurdly, manage the global commons. Like I said earlier, these people are far from modest.
I don’t know about you, but I am terrified when I hear things like this. The last thing I want (besides an endless diet of brussel sprouts) is a cabal of globalists at WEF determining the course of national economies, the nature of business, or anything else remotely resembling that size and scope. Oh, and I am good with the social contract, as constructed by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau a few centuries ago.
And last but not least, under the “About” header, comes the outline of the Great Reset. For instance, “’The Great Reset’ is a commitment to jointly and urgently build the foundations of our economic and social system for a more fair, sustainable and resilient future.” And, “It requires a new social contract centered on human dignity, social justice and where societal progress does not fall behind economic development.” And, “The global health crisis has laid bare longstanding ruptures in our economies and societies, and created a social crisis that urgently requires decent, meaningful jobs.”
Now, I will not argue against the existence of some of these problems. Of course, the world is not perfect. Problems exist far and wide. However, I will argue unendingly that the best way to resolve these problems is not for a group of super-elites at the WEF to construct a grand plan for the entire world. On the other hand, I would put forth that the best course of action is for individuals, families, communities, etc. to tackle the vast majority of these problems.
Obviously, economic and social issues vary wildly from neighborhood to neighborhood, town to town, state to state, country to country, and continent to continent. It is preposterous that a few grand global planners at the WEF could even possibly come close to understanding, let alone solving, the almost-infinite amount of problems that exist in the world.
History has taught us that global organizations come woefully short in resolving international problems. The League of Nations failed to prevent WWII. The United Nations has failed to prevent a host of wars, famines, and other global maladies. Maybe most telling, the World Health Organization abysmally failed to warn the world of the coronavirus, even thought that issue was arguably its sole focus!
Once again, we should not succumb to the quixotic (and totally unrealistic) notion that a few super smart people at the WEF (or any world organization) could press a society reset button, so that seven billion people could magically thrive under a new world order that their brilliant minds concocted. As humans, we have barely enough wisdom and foresight to keep our own lives in order.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is an editor at The Heartland Institute.
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