In 2050, when we – or our children – look back on the kind of world that we have shaped over our lifetime and bequeathed to those who follow us, what will we see?
In many ways we are living in a golden age. The last 25 years have seen what the economist Branko Milanovic calls ‘probably the profoundest reshuffle of people’s economic positions since the Industrial Revolution’. Millions of families around the world have made a ‘great escape’ from poverty. Life expectancy is increasing, diseases such as malaria and measles are retreating, and more children are in school than ever before. The global population is stabilising, due to progress in areas such as reproductive health services, women’s rights and girls’ education. And the number of children who die each day has halved since 1990: that’s 17,000 more children, every single day, who will now live to realise their potential.
More and more women and men now have the chance to provide for their families, pursue their dreams and experience lives free from poverty. Millions of businesses have started and new jobs have been created, as an ever-increasing number of people have become able to fulfil their creative potential. At Tearfund, we’ve had the privilege of walking with millions of these families, sharing their troubles and celebrating their successes with them.
But this golden age does not yet extend to everyone. A billion people remain trapped at the bottom, predominantly in the world’s war zones and ungoverned spaces, where the ascent out of poverty is harder than ever. That climb remains perilous and precarious, and large numbers of those who have recently made this ascent remain vulnerable: one slip or crisis can plunge them back into poverty. And we are also seeing increasing vulnerability in developed countries, as safety nets are eroded and wages stagnate. Most fundamentally, the future extension of this golden age – to our children and grandchildren’s generation – cannot be taken for granted. In fact, we think it is at greater risk today than it has been for many years.
This discussion paper aims to catalyse a much needed debate about how we shape the future of our society and our world. We propose areas of life and policy that we think could help restore balance and prosperity. Through our advocacy work, we are playing our part in realising this restorative economy.
