In order for the death of the 44 people who lost their lives last week when the Morandi viaduct in Genoa collapsed to not be in vain, we should at least draw the following ten conclusions, in Italy and elsewhere.
1. This bridge should have been repaired long ago and anyone guilty of negligence should be severely punished.
2. The bridge was left as is because everyone is generally convinced that every problem will one day be fixed by someone else. Whereas, on the contrary, a problem that no one personally takes the initiative to fix will never be fixed. In particular, the neighbouring residents of the bridge who complain today and who claim to have warned of the risks it was running, are also guilty of not having insisted and not having created the conditions for a technical, social, economic or political solution.
3. They are all victims of a well-known syndrome: more importance is given to cars that ride on a bridge than the solidity of that bridge. However, in the case of the Genoa viaduct, it should have been understood that the economic and social survival of an entire region hinged on its solidity. Moreover, without an alternative route, the economy of the region is likely to collapse for at least several months.
4. It has nothing to do with austerity or with Europe, but rather with the misuse of public debt, which should have been used to finance infrastructure, not to improve the well-being present generations by using credit.
5. More generally, there is too much interest in flows rather than in stocks; in what is consumed rather than assets. One is a source of value and profit, while the other is tied to spending. The statistics even boast that production flows increase GDP, even if it must destroy infrastructures or other assets, whether artificial or natural.
6. If we measure how a community protects its assets, for the sake of future generations (that is, how “positive” it is), these problems come to light. Thus, since Positive Planet1 started measuring the “positivity” of OECD countries, Italy has always been ranked lowest in the rankings2, because, among other things, its infrastructures are unkempt.
7. This bad ranking of Italy is indicative of the Italians’ concerns for their future. This goes with the belief in “it was better before,” whose impact is reflected in the declining birth rates and the rise of populism. In fact, there is a link between Salvini’s arrival in power and the collapse of the Genoa bridge: both reflect the same fear of the future and a lack of self-confidence.
8. France, which is barely better ranked than Italy, is also threatened by these same tropisms. In a very real sense, the priority ought to be: to take care of its infrastructures, reinforce the tangible and intangible assets of the future, and to not destroy the heritage of the past, of which we are only tenants. In order to do this, one by one, we should take notice of all the dimensions of this indicator, discuss it and make it the foundations of a political program that is finally serious.
9. More generally, each of us should behave in a positive way, that is, be in service of the next generation, not just of our own children (if we take interest in the future generations, which is not always the case) but also by showing concern for the collective issues of the future.
10. We would then see that there are many humble choices (such as waste management) or major choices (such as the defence of all types of assets) that are urgent, that would revolutionize our lives and make it more serene and joyful.
j@attali.com
1. Positive Planet : http://positiveplanet.ngo/
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2. Classement 2017 : http://positivetk.cluster023.hosting.ovh.net/fr/lindice-de-positivite-des-nations-2017/
Classement 2016 : http://positivetk.cluster023.hosting.ovh.net/fr/presentation-de-lindice-de-positivite-de-leconomie-2016/
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