The end of times, and the beginning of the new

The impended war between the US and Iran, the massive fires in Australia, Brexit, the US impeachment, the outbreak of the coronavirus, the increasing chance of the new economic crisis and major stock market crash, the continued rise of intolerant policies etc. It seems like the year is 2020 apocalyptic, as if "the end of times" is coming. But more likely than this is an apocalypse, we are living in a time of great transition.

The end of the old economic and political paradigm

We have known for a long time that current economic system, based on selfishness, competition and greed, is crumbling. The commercialization and privatization of social services and the natural resources, stock market speculation, economic competitiveness, and the selfishness of nations (symbolized by Trump's call America First) are the means of this tenacious economic paradigm. We can see its consequences at every step: a devastated environment, climate change, global inequality that causes famine, widespread poverty and migration, social tensions and also wars.

This old economic paradigm of selfishness, competitiveness and greed is "faithfully" served by today's political system, which works for the benefit of large economic players (corporations, banks and other financial institutions, stock exchanges), instead of protecting the interests of the world's people and the planetary environment.

The long-awaited collapse of this economic paradigm is now happening before our eyes, triggered by the outbreak of a new coronavirus. This virus is not the cause, but the trigger of the collapse, because the economic system has actually stagnated since the last major financial crisis of 2008. This crisis was never really fixed because the major central banks "solved" or masked it with a massive amount of money, and governments with drastic austerity measures which causes huge inequality gap inside and between nations.

In the last days of February 2020, the coronavirus "infected" the world's stock exchanges. Why? Because China, "the engine" of global production and trade, temporarily almost stopped. Other countries soon followed. Production, transport, tourism and consumerism are slowing down or shrinking. Entrepreneurs and ordinary people have become cautious. This situation, however, means "death" for the economic system that has to grow all the time. Economic growth is a "token" in speculative stock markets, which are actually colossal gambling casinos, where our shared social and natural resources (the commons of humanity) become private assets.

This gambling system is now ending because of the microscopic virus. The stock markets are crashing, and trillions of dollars, euros and other currencies have been wiped out in recent days. They will soon affect the global financial and economic system.

Crisis as a decision for a new

Today we are talking a lot about the crisis - social, environmental, political, economic, financial - but we do not know what the word crisis actually means. The term derives from the ancient Greek noun "krisis", which originates from the verb "krinein", meaning "to decide." The crises are basically meant a turning point that requires our decision. We can choose to preserve the old or decide on the new.

A crisis is just like a disease that compels us to act. Maybe we go to the doctor, or we change our life patterns (how to eat, sleep, exercise, etc.). The worst is to do nothing because passivity causes the same as maintaining the old or the status quo. In other words, if we do nothing, we only deepen the disease or crisis because they don't go away by itself, not without our participation.

A painful transition period

The coronavirus is, in a symbolic sense, an expression of the disease in the "organism" of humanity caused by our excessive orientation to materialism. Materialistic orientation has found its "home" primarily in the economic field, where it is expressed as commercialization, consumerism, greed, selfishness, stock market speculation, privatization of natural resources etc. Thus, instead of meeting the basic needs of all people and the wellbeing of humanity and the environment, the economic system serves primarily to the excess wealth of the affluent individuals and countries.

And all those who have enormous (economic) wealth and (political) power, or both at the same time, forcibly cling to the old patterns and will try to do everything to preserve their privileges. But they won't succeed.

Because people are increasingly aware of this situation and will continually demand not only environmental and social justice but also economical. As soon as this movement for economic justice embraces the entire world, the "global agenda" will be "forced" by the demand for a global sharing of resources, which will be a crucial step towards entering a "new age" based on genuine international cooperation and sharing.

The beginning of the new

Many individual initiatives and movements for the sharing economy will soon evolve into a global demand to provide every human with necessities to meet basic needs in a way that doesn't threaten the global environment.

The global sharing economy will be based on global coordination of the distribution of essential goods between countries, i. e. the system of barter (more in the publication A proposal for the global sharing of essential goods). The aim of an economic system is thus becoming the needs of people, not just seeking profit and power of influential individuals and nations. On this basis, we will be able to build a more equitable global society that will begin to cope with the positive development of humanity and fixing the global environment.

If it seems to you that the end of time is coming, you are right, but at the same time, it is the birth of a new, better and healthier world.