This is a reflection written by Esther Kaufman, Masters Student in Economics at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Life in these new times seems to beg for persistent reflection. As ugly realizations of the consequences of a world ill prepared for a pandemic grow, I do not dismiss the factor of hope. The unshakeable nature of this trait has been amplified in an unparalleled fashion. Neighbors encourage one another with songs shared across open windows and rooftops. Crowds cheer for the essential workers fighting in the front lines that keep society afloat. Individuals set up food drives, sew masks, and launch fundraisers for those in need. The social fabric of our global connectivity being woven today is a testament to the primitive need for hope.
I do not speak as an expert on hope, but merely as a student of economics digging for answers. The study of behavioral economics that has taken shape in recent decades, suggests that personality traits affect decision-making. How will this trait shape our economy? Social welfare? Politics? These are the questions we are left to test among times of great uncertainty. However, too many confounding variables between our current predicament and historical references make it difficult to draw predictions.
Still, my experience in media sectors has convinced me that the power of narratives to transform perceptions is not to be underestimated. While many questions remain unanswered, we can infer from the narrative of the global world. The digitalization that marks our era today tells an interesting story. We find ourselves relying on digital platforms to connect us to our grocery stores, retail desires, social networks, employment, etc. Has this heightened the meaning of broadband connection in the fabric of our social welfare?
If one thing remains certain, it is the antiquity of community to human history. The Internet has become a critical instrument in serving our innate need for social and communal interaction as it writes our story. As our basic needs increasingly rely on this tool, shifts in our value judgments of economic justice seem inevitable. Indeed, it is the malleability of economic justice that economist Thomas Piketty points to in assessment of inequality.
In economics, digital platforms are treated as mediators. In this sense, we can analyze their interactions as matching services between consumers and suppliers. Yet, there remains much to be discovered in regards to the preferences of users and how contextual situations may influence their decision-making. It is in understanding the mechanisms of digital society that we may better understand the shifting structure of a world adapting to life in an era marked by infectious disease.
As I reflect in the mirror presented by the media of a digital world, the reflection of broken pieces do not overshadow the space for ingenuity. It is no illusion that inequality is being amplified and no illusion that political powers are shifting. There is still work to be done and growth to be achieved from a global, interdisciplinary effort towards equality and justice for all.
About the author:
Esther Kaufman is a Masters Student in Economics at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven Belgium. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in Economics with a minor in Global Terrorism Studies in 2017.