Erna Solberg at the World Forum for Democracy. Credit: Yasser Machat.Discussions about the long-term future often don’t seem politically convenient for the people elected to represent us. When you’re working on an election cycle, the ever present spectre of securing future electoral success incentivises decision makers to keep in step with public opinion, instead of raising the issues we must address for the future of people, society and planet.
Too often we elect people so many of us are dissatisfied with and hope they’ll do the right thing. You could point to looming water scarcity as an indicator of this, or the seeming lack of preparedness across Europe for managing refugee crises. You could also point to past (and present) decisions around education that have arguably failed to prepare people today to be active citizens with the knowledge and skills to fully participate in a democratic society – along with systems that are designed to foster that participation.
