The trajectory of progress must change

Context: Global governance is in bad shape. The G­20 is at an impasse as the U.S. wants its members to shut out Russia and China who it sees as threats to its global hegemony while India wants the G­20 to concentrate on the agenda of 90% of humanity outside the G­7. Governance is facing trouble

• World divided by wars- The world is being divided by wars amongst nations, and strife within them — wars with military weapons and with financial and trade weapons.
• Realities not reflected in numbers– People’s experiences are not reflected in the statisticians’ numbers of poverty.
• Economic growth is not sustainable- The planet is heating up inexorably. It cannot take the pressure of the present consumptive model of economic growth any longer.

Report ‘Pixels of Progress’ by: The McKinsey Global Institute

• Yardsticks applied- It applies the yardsticks of life expectancy and incomes to compare the well-being of people in 40,000 micro regions.
• Progress explained by GDP– The report concludes that growth of GDP at a country level explains only 20% of the progress on the ground. The remaining 80% is local and specific.
• Top-Down approach is flawed- The present theory­ in­ use of top­ down problem­ solving is conceptually? awed.

Way Ahead

• Local systems solutions – Complex systemic problems that appear in many places require local systems solutions that are found using cooperation and implemented by communities.
• Change should come from power systems– Pressure to change and new solutions must come from the peripheries of power systems, with movements on the ground in India and around the world.
• Economic growth should be more sustainable– The trajectory of progress must be changed to make economic growth more equitable and sustainable.