Buckle up – We are Departing
tl;dr: A guest post from a Web 3.0 CEO who lived through the fall of the Berlin Wall from the East German side. Some powerful perspectives.
The following is a guest post from Sascha Gartenbach, the Founder & President of Global Citizen Foundation.
This is the second time in my life where I am in the midst of tremendous changes that will impact our future. The first time was when I was 15 in 1989. That is when the Berlin Wall came down and I was living in East Germany.
Now I am in the midst of another massive change, which is brought about by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and it’ll turn everything upside down again.
When I reflect on the events of 1989 and compare it with the coronavirus pandemic, I am reminded of how these two dramatic events share a lot of similarities, which provide a reasonable guide to what is likely to happen in the future. What is clear: this crisis will change our future and the systems that we lived in.
Incompatible Systems
In 1989 a whole system was collapsing – the political, economic and social systems. This system never adapted to the needs and demands of a changing world. A system that was too linear and in the end was broken down by people. The desperate attempts to save communism failed.
Today?
I will be bold and state that this is the same situation. These systems are too linear, hierarchical and rigid, which this virus has exposed. Attempts to save the global economy from this crisis are failing because it is an unknown threat that moves with ease through the interconnectedness of densely populated cities and global transportation links A virus that is fueled by the weak leadership of politicians and questionable practices of businesses.
A system that is constantly eroding essential pillars of our society with an argument based on rationalism is now being questioned, and many perceive it as very outdated. Maybe these systems needed this dramatic nudge because we are now forced to change and adapt our systems quickly.
A Whole New World
I have to admit I am fascinated by the circumstances we live in today. There already is change underway and we will see other things that we considered as normal being radically changed further down the road.
We already witness little things:
- Working from home rapidly becoming the new normal and it will change the future of work. The Guardian, BBC, New York Times and the German FAZ had good reads about it.
- Remote, distance learning and studying, existing since a very long time, is getting boosted and might impact the way we learn and study in the future
- I believe our values change slowly from selfish to strengthen the value of solidarity. And that the sense of family and community will gain in importance. I have seen little notes in my neighborhood where strangers offer help to older people.
- Our environment is recovering such as air pollution is dropping
- The digital industry will boom and blossom. Examples? Amazon just announced another 100K people being employed. I have been talking to friends who own businesses running in both worlds, brick & mortar and online, seeing increases up to 800% in online orders.
- There is a lot of outcalls to support local business that will eventually end the domination of the big one
- Our communication is much more responsive – we suddenly take more care of people
- We might see a drop of populist parties as they have no good solution that is helpful to deal with today’s situation. The Atlantic had some good articles published on this topic, with this one to highlight.
Uncertainty Then and Now
In 1989, the majority of people were enthusiastic about the change, the new freedom. However, quickly after starting early 1990 many people began to worry about the future, being concerned about what is happening out there. No one educated them and told them what to do with this new-found freedom. It led to a lot of uncertainties and fear – especially among the 40+ generation.
I have witnessed this with my family and friends. Many families had to deal with unemployment – that officially never existed before. Felt left out of opportunities and fell into depression. My friend’s father at the time hanged himself.
Most recently most of us have seen a similar effect – during the Arab Spring. The supposedly liberated states very quickly went down the drain and fell into old routines. Why? No one has told them what they can do with this new freedom. Obviously, it was not the case for former East Germany because the frame was gone. This is the same today with the coronavirus. We can’t go back. The frames we operated in don’t exist any longer.
Looking back, It is a big lesson we can all learn from and I personally call for new leadership! We are witnessing significant change unfolding before us, which will have a tremendous impact on our future.
If we have a leadership that acknowledges the change and builds structures that allow us to define a future together with each and every one of us, then we will create a great future together. A future based not on greed, but on meaning and purpose. This new leadership has the power to unleash the potential of humankind to create new economies and build the foundations for a new way of thinking that will generate thoughtful, fruitful experiences and raising awareness about important issues; bringing people together for a common purpose and achieving new breakthroughs that will benefit all of humanity.
Buckle Up!