Future Focus
F
It is now recognised that GDP is a measurement of inputs, not the outcomes that we seek. It fails to measure wellbeing as reflected in healthier children, healthier families, better-quality education, human dignity and other higher-order values that make life worth living.
Progressive economists and development experts are experimenting with other measures of progress that take into account inputs, outputs and outcomes, as well as costing externalities such as pollution and other damage to the environment and our common good. This approach puts the wellbeing of the country’s citizens at the centre. That is when one sees impressive results on the likes of the Happiness Index, which shows the best outcomes in Nordic countries, with Finland identified as the happiest country in the world.
Africa’s cultural focus on linking body, mind and spirit makes ample room for such an approach to measuring progress, rather than the restrictive GDP approach. A profound difference right now between African countries and these forward- thinking and successful Nordic countries is a mindset that emphasises human dignity, the common good and stewardship. When one adopts this view, one is prepared to pay higher taxes in return for a better quality of service, better education, social welfare, efficient infrastructure, etc – not just for oneself, but for everybody, so that we are all, collectively, better off.
South Africa, like the rest of the continent, has over the past 24 years experimented with neo- liberal socio-economic development models, with very mixed results. The neo-liberal economic model at play here represents a continuation of the approach of the colonial conquest mindset of extraction and destructive competition. Nordic countries adopted a different model of development to make a decisive break from the feudal system they abandoned in the mid-1880s.
The Reformed Church pastors of the time convinced the feudal lords that equality was better for all – serf and lord. The path to the future was paved by investing in programmes to effect mindset shifts by focusing on “inner work”, to connect the spirit, the mind and the body. Retreats and youth camps were promoted to encourage citizens to connect with nature on a regular basis. This approach was rolled out in homes, schools, churches and workplaces to embed human-centric value in every citizen from childhood. This mindset shift did not just “happen”. Instead, Nordic countries invested heavily in their people, something they continue to do. What do we need to do?
Time to shine
Across Africa, we simply have not invested enough in ensuring that young people get similar opportunities to shine and grow. We need to return to our cultural roots of connecting with nature to enhance personal and community development at all levels of society. African people are highly spiritual and need to be supported to connect the spirit, mind and body in a holistic way, in harmony with nature.
How do we develop a generation of young people who are confident, values-based citizens able to identify and develop their unique talents in order
to excel? It starts with an educational system that brings out the best in each individual, while promoting the values of human connectedness and collaboration. Education needs to be far more than a matric certificate: it needs to bring about the graduation of young people who are self-confident and productive citizens of their country. It takes very little to instil confidence in a child – and every child needs to be affirmed as an individual worthy of love and respect. We need to support schools and spiritual institutions to help strike the spark in each child’s heart. That means finding a way for government, the private sector and civil society to work with existing institutions to get the most out of their limited resources. Values-based civic education is essential to promoting the inner work in each of us to heal the wounds of our ugly past and forge a shared future together.
This inner work is also necessary for our teachers. Most teachers today were children who may not have received the love and support they needed, yet we trust them to support the development of children for a complex new world. We need to recognise that we are all wounded from the past and, as a country and a continent, we have not invested sufficiently to promote healing in our societies. We need to do more to invest in parents, educators and local authority figures and create the space for a process of healing so that they are better able to support the next generations. Africa has an abundance of caterpillars ready to become butterflies. It is up to us to strengthen the institutions which will enable these butterflies to emerge.
We need to embed in our children, our teachers, our business leaders and our politicians a sense of responsibility, ownership and purpose to promote the common good. Then Africa’s future will become more certain, more stable, more inter-connected and inclusive. Africa’s citizens are craving a sense of belonging and leaders who are accountable to them. Investing in strengthening
“the inner work” would enable each and every citizen to take ownership of their country and the continent, as a whole. They would then treat every asset as “OUR buildings, OUR schools” and “OUR workplaces”.
Until we re-connect as a people, until we achieve balance between and within ourselves, with nature and with our spirits, the secrets of our glorious African past will remain hidden from view and dormant. If we want to re-imagine an inclusive and sustainable future, we need to start by drinking from the rich well of lessons from the past.
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