The Great Reset
The year 2020 marked the start of a new decade with an ever-growing advancement in technology and the rapid rise in industry, the world contemplated new opportunities and a promising future ahead. The New Year set in motion and the first few months signified a booming hike in innovation and technology. While Digital transformation rapidly crept up the ladder, 5G boasted to deliver the greatest surge in internet history and Artificial Intelligence geared up to be democratized. However, it all soon came crashing down in March.
With the outbreak of Covid-19, the world arrived at a standstill. The new pandemic came at a hefty price. Businesses closed down, development derailed and unexpecting citizens succumbed to the disease. The Earth plunged into an era of lockdown and human life converged to a halt. Most people quickly began to adapt to the new lifestyle, working from home, finding new hobbies, and exploring new avenues in their daily routine. A very specific group of powerful people came together, to utilize the pandemic and craft a silent plan to change the world.
The World Economic Forum:
Founded in 1971 by German engineer Klaus Schwab, The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization comprised of the top 1000 companies and individuals around the world with members including King Charles, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, and Mukesh Ambani. The Organization speaks on contemporary issues like globalization, capital markets, gender gap, wealth management, international conflicts, and environmental problems. What sets the WEF apart from other similar cooperations is that it is a lobbying organization with memberships costing up to $630,000. These memberships are very much sought after and seldom available to ordinary members of society.
On June 3rd, 2020, the Royal Family released a video titled “The Great Reset”. In the video, King Charles urged cooperation and everyday individuals to make changes in their lifestyles by nature and move towards sustainable growth without properly addressing any ways to make that happen. While Covid along with other worldly issues were on the rise, in June 2020 world leaders gathered at Davos Switzerland and a WEF meeting was held which was unsurprisingly titled “The Great Reset”. A few key takeaways from the meeting were that the WEF wanted to push towards a more globalized society, run by multinational companies and world governments. The WEF perceived everything that was going on in the world as an opportunity to advance that interest. Discussions on the economy, and how to maneuver the world in the right direction in the light of Covid were highlights of the conference. In a 2020 article uploaded by the cooperation phrases like “reset and reshape the world” revolved around a very dubious tone. With all eyes pointing towards the WEF meeting, those watching from afar began to doubt the true nature of this agenda. Individuals and corporations around the world were quick to point out that the WEF was engulfed in an aura that was quite eerie. All over social media, movements sprung up and videos started to surface online which suggested that the Great Reset advocated for a consumer-only culture, turning the world into a hyper-global economy, and consolidating all power into the hands of a few. The fact that Covid had marked the right opportunity for world leaders to come together, argued that the great reset was the beginning of a new world order.
The theory of a possible new world order coming into place was picked up by journalists and political commentators and was even discussed during the Canadian elections. People began to inhabit a new wave of fear where they debated if the WEF was conspiring with political leaders to transition into a global economy. Was Covid a pandemic, artificially developed to bring about a sinister agenda? No one could confirm.
The Great Reset:
The Great Reset encompasses five core Principles which are as follows:
• Enhancing social inclusion:
Great Reset followers believe that the pandemic revealed shocking inequalities. The middle and lower middle class experienced more casualties as people could not afford to work remotely and had to be out in the open to make ends meet. The Great Reset fosters the need for social inclusion, to reduce inequalities and move towards decreasing the burden passed onto future generations.
• Reconstructing sustainable economies:
This includes investing in clean energy, addressing climate change and working towards a general decarbonization of the environment to fight global warming. This green growth would open new job opportunities as markets strive to attain sustainability and inclusivity.
• Escalation of the 4th industrial revolution:
The integration of AI in the world order would ensure that technology accelerates at a rapid rate, aids human life and attains intelligence that would prevent another epidemic from taking stage.
• Promoting sustainable business practices:
The new ESG paradigm (environmental, social governance) pushes businesses to adopt sustainable and ethical practices that consider environmental and social factors. A shift from “short-term” shareholder capitalism to a more equitable and greener “longer-term” stakeholder capitalism is pursued.
• Fostering resilience and preparedness:
The Great Reset highlights the need to strengthen global cooperation and preparedness for future pandemics and calamities. It emphasizes the need for a more equitable and inclusive form of globalization, which requires strong leadership to establish global governance.
Where are we headed:
Whether the theories on the Great Reset hold any truth or not, one thing is certain. The world is in the midst of a shift. COVID-19, Inflation and economic impact have widened the gap between those who own assets and those who are less fortunate and given the current trajectory of the world, this gap is bound to grow. The evolving geopolitical dynamics point towards tensions between major world powers and shifts in global leadership. On the flip side of the coin, the Great Reset is meant to be the blueprint for a greener and fairer society and with organizations all over the world working towards this because it provides us with a redefined system of world economics. Risks of climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are avenues that need to be addressed, especially after Covid and corporations are actively engaged in exploring these paths.
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE