Where does the world go from here? PwC's Take on Tomorrow

There's some interesting and valuable perspectives in PwC's Take on Tomorrow series of articles. All of the #TakeOnTomorrow articles were topical and timely but today I chose to re-read the articles on: ESG, Localisation, Tax and Private Equity, because I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking about these topics in general lately. I wanted to share a few of the thoughts I had after digesting these a second time.

1. Corporations, economies and societies need to be re-coupled not considered separate independent spheres.

The complex challenges being faced by businesses, shareholders, consumers, investors, citizens, governments, regulators, society and the planet - requires a new paradigm. We will only solve these deep challenges with new ways and models that bridge the interests for ALL of those groups. We need more shared understanding and shared accountability than ever before. Expectations of perpetual growth in wealth/value and deeply rooted asymmetry among individuals and among nations, are some of the largest challenges we will face in finding this balance of interests.

2. Values and valuations are converging.

While it may happen at different paces in different industries and in different regions of the world, it is happening. ESG is the most visible dialogue on this, but other dimensions will also become more mainstream. Some of it may be driven by regulators, some may be driven through investor behaviour and access to capital, and some may be driven through consumers. But it's no longer an if, it's a when and a how.

3. Government borrowing during COVID 19 has fundamentally altered the role of government for decades to come.

Regardless of what any of us may believe or prefer in terms of the size of government and the role of government, the borrowing and stimulus undertaken by governments means a larger role for quite some time. Governments need to address or repair their balance sheets, revenues and expenses while addressing key social, environmental and economic issues without becoming unattractive places to invest or do business. This represents opportunity for new types of public private collaboration as governments seek to build back better and greener and more inclusively.

It also means that while localisation is a key driving force, few countries can survive only trading with themselves or only using domestic products and services. That requires new thinking and likely some increased level of collaboration on trade, tax policy, and regulatory regimes.

I'm interested in what other folks took away from the articles, and your thoughts on where to from here. What do you think will we see? What needs to happen?