A “care society” against sanitary “black swans”

The world is facing a health crisis shaking our socioeconomic systems. From this crisis could emerge a “care society”, more resilient, refocused on activities of empathy (health, food, education, ecology) and which “rearms” our institutional, economic and societal systems around three core ideas: the return of a protective and benevolent state, the immunization of the socioeconomic body and the strengthening of regional cooperations.

The Covid-19 health crisis revealed the state of “health disarmament” of the health systems of many countries. Public authorities managed scarcity. This is the result of management decisions based on budgetary and financial logic.

Reinvesting in the commons

The shift towards a “care society” (care: taking care) requires transforming the dominant logics in the management of the commons, accepting forms of economic inefficiency (idle overcapacity, preventive stocks) when they guarantee system resilience. The post-Covid-19 health society would thus be marked by the return of a protective and benevolent State, investing in human and material resources to restore the structural production capacities of commons (a collective good whose use by one person reduces availability for all; Jean Tirole).

It also involves rethinking the roles of the private and public sectors in the production of commons. Under budgetary pressure, States partially disengaged from producing commons, ceding space to the private sector. With regard to “health rearmament,” the question is to what extent the private sector is willing to replace a profitability logic with a resilience logic.

Lockdown is solidarity

Periods of crisis are conducive to anxieties and reflexes that test the cohesion of the social body. Conversely, benevolent initiatives and solidarities appear to support families in difficulty or healthcare staff. Lockdown is a form of “passive solidarity” that aims to reduce the risk of becoming infected and of infecting others.

At the same time, we have seen a proliferation of “collective intelligence solidarities” for the manufacture of masks, ventilators and the development of digital mutual-aid solutions. The case of Morocco is striking in this regard.

The health crisis therefore revealed reserves of inventiveness and collective intelligence in the service of the common good. One of the challenges of the post-crisis phase will be to maintain and strengthen this open innovation potential serving the common good.

International relations are being reshuffled, so, in our view, regional cooperation will be more important than ever in a spirit of active solidarity. There are lessons to be learned from the shaping of a Europe-Mediterranean-Africa strategic axis to build the regional solidarities of tomorrow on solid and sustainable cultural, social and human foundations. Resilience must be regional and should be built primarily in the areas serving care: the citizen's security (health, food and economic), education, research and innovation.

From a “best-profit” globalization, we can move towards a “best-care” regionalization which represents a readjustment of humanity in a world where human mobility must continue to flourish.

Crisis management culture:

By strengthening their capacity to absorb external shocks, organizations help reduce the vulnerability of productive systems and reinforce the resilience of the entire social body. Our societies must economically and symbolically revalue the “care professions” (nurses, nursing assistants, cashiers, street cleaners, social workers, transport workers, etc.).

Invisible and sometimes legally insecure – some of them operate in the informal sector – these “useful” professions contribute to the maintenance of society and its resilience.

Many economic sectors and institutions saw their activity disrupted by the health crisis. Our organizations gave the impression of discovering, incredulous, the effects of the health crisis and having to implement solutions. Research on resilient organizations shows that they develop virtuous capacities to prepare for crises: critical review of practices, risk analysis, construction and testing of continuity plans.

By Pr. Hicham Sebti, Doctor in management, Director of the Euromed Business School (Euromed University of Fes).

https://www.leconomiste.com/article/1060991-une-societe-du-care-contre-les-cygnes-noirs-sanitaires