The economic situation may have an impact on our purse strings, but there is a wider social impact which is still to be considered, says Stephen Weigel
With the current uncertainty about share and house prices, there remains a focus on our financial situation and the impact on employment, businesses and banking.
While these issues are extremely important and likely to affect us all for some time, it is the impact on other areas which have yet to be properly considered or addressed by all parties in a co-ordinated and proactive way.
Some of the impact on society is potentially far more damaging now and in the future than on markets, which recover over time.
There is a strong possibility the society seen by many as being ‘broken’ or requiring ‘greater empowerment’ is at risk of becoming even more dislocated, fearful of crime, self-centred and segregated.
At times like these, people often reminisce about how things were better in the past. Often, their memories are viewed through rose-tinted glasses.
In my own experience of past high unemployment during a recession, many young people saw no point in education and relied on the state for their income and other support. Others found unlawful ways of surviving the economic downturn.
The challenge this time round is greater than before, as our current communities have been used to being more self-sufficient and independent during a period of sustained growth. In many cases, people have had all the possessions they want and a lifestyle to match, funded by borrowing.
This was encouraged and appears to have led to a reduction in citizenship, as well as community responsibility and cohesion.
A number of current initiatives are seeking to implement schemes to deal with gang violence, improve the education of young people, and retrain people who have become unemployed or are unemployable.
It is very likely there will be an increase in crime and the fear of crime during these difficult times, and local government, the police and other agencies do not have the resources to tackle this alone.
Certainly, there are arrangements and mechanisms to deal with daily occurrences, but there also needs to be some capacity to get buy-in from citizens to play their part in improving communities and citizenship.
Perhaps it is time to take positive action to encourage individuals to once again take a greater interest in their society and citizenship. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a significant downturn in the number of people volunteering. And yet, many community groups, as well as agencies, rely on volunteers to run their services.
I do not have a menu of simple answers or solutions. What is clear is that we all need to work together and encourage others who are not currently involved to help us to improve the interaction and collaboration between individuals which make up our communities and society. Maybe a lesson can be learned from the way we have reduced malaria, where elimination of the disease in an area does not require the destruction of all offending mosquitoes capable of transmitting the disease. In North America and Europe, anopheles mosquitoes, capable of transmitting malaria, are still present, but the parasite has been removed.
Perhaps the current rescue packages are akin to the treatment of mosquitoes, with the idea of encouraging volunteers and working together more to help build a more inclusive society, while removing the diseased bits.
It is a combination of both that is likely to produce a more rapid recovery and better place for all in the future, and so reduce the risk of local communities catching ‘social malaria’.
Stephen Weigel is chief executive of Tandridge DC
While these issues are extremely important and likely to affect us all for some time, it is the impact on other areas which have yet to be properly considered or addressed by all parties in a co-ordinated and proactive way.
Some of the impact on society is potentially far more damaging now and in the future than on markets, which recover over time.
There is a strong possibility the society seen by many as being ‘broken’ or requiring ‘greater empowerment’ is at risk of becoming even more dislocated, fearful of crime, self-centred and segregated.
At times like these, people often reminisce about how things were better in the past. Often, their memories are viewed through rose-tinted glasses.
In my own experience of past high unemployment during a recession, many young people saw no point in education and relied on the state for their income and other support. Others found unlawful ways of surviving the economic downturn.
The challenge this time round is greater than before, as our current communities have been used to being more self-sufficient and independent during a period of sustained growth. In many cases, people have had all the possessions they want and a lifestyle to match, funded by borrowing.
This was encouraged and appears to have led to a reduction in citizenship, as well as community responsibility and cohesion.
A number of current initiatives are seeking to implement schemes to deal with gang violence, improve the education of young people, and retrain people who have become unemployed or are unemployable.
It is very likely there will be an increase in crime and the fear of crime during these difficult times, and local government, the police and other agencies do not have the resources to tackle this alone.
Certainly, there are arrangements and mechanisms to deal with daily occurrences, but there also needs to be some capacity to get buy-in from citizens to play their part in improving communities and citizenship.
Perhaps it is time to take positive action to encourage individuals to once again take a greater interest in their society and citizenship. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a significant downturn in the number of people volunteering. And yet, many community groups, as well as agencies, rely on volunteers to run their services.
I do not have a menu of simple answers or solutions. What is clear is that we all need to work together and encourage others who are not currently involved to help us to improve the interaction and collaboration between individuals which make up our communities and society. Maybe a lesson can be learned from the way we have reduced malaria, where elimination of the disease in an area does not require the destruction of all offending mosquitoes capable of transmitting the disease. In North America and Europe, anopheles mosquitoes, capable of transmitting malaria, are still present, but the parasite has been removed.
Perhaps the current rescue packages are akin to the treatment of mosquitoes, with the idea of encouraging volunteers and working together more to help build a more inclusive society, while removing the diseased bits.
It is a combination of both that is likely to produce a more rapid recovery and better place for all in the future, and so reduce the risk of local communities catching ‘social malaria’.
Stephen Weigel is chief executive of Tandridge DC
