“Brazil has all the conditions to evolve in the new world” (Ricardo Young) but will it evolve or will it continue grow the old [economic] way?
I was lucky to get over an hour of time with Ricardo Young the ex Founder and President of Ethos Institute, Brazil’s leading sustainability think tank, and now leader of Instituto Democracia e Sustentabilidade. Ricardo himself ran for Senate representing the Green Party in São Paulo. As I understand it he gained 4 million votes [unconfirmed] on the promise of prosperity and sustainable growth for all. He is a key advisor to Marina Silva, Brazil’s ex Environment Minister, who ran for presidential elections in the 2010 elections winning 19% of the first round votes (nearly 20 millions Brazilians). Together they are championing a new political movement in Brazil.
Ricardo is straight talking; he’s tight on time and he’s a man with a mission to make Brazil a true 21st Century economic leader, building a sustainable economy working and championing capitalism 2.0. Yes, now is certainly the BRICS’ time. Europe and America have run into the ground on free market capitalism, industrialization of everything, and debt-driven consumer culture. The evidence is apparent; the ‘old way’ is no longer serving society or planet well. The future, which we are in already, needs to be different not least because the old paradigm is not financially sustainable, as we have seen with European and US market collapse. Nor is it environmentally viable over the longer term.
Ricardo talked of a Brazilian government that had for the last 30 years aimed to be one of the worlds leading economies; with the ambition that Brazil would indeed be the future economy. Brazil’s time has now indeed come. But, as Ricardo observed, much like other BRIC countries Brazil is building its leadership on an outdated model of capitalism and the majority current world view. There is nothing ‘future’ about the dominant approach to growth in Brazil despite how successful it may appear by building on the new middle classes spending power.
In Ricardo’s words “Brazil has all the conditions to evolve in the new world” but he believes that the country is divided in two on this opportunity to ‘evolve’. Many are fighting to preserve the right to grow a material-based consumer-economy and to feed the rest of the world’s appetite for consumption using up its vast natural resource reserves to do so. While others want a new way for Brazil and an identity that does not follow the ‘American Dream’ (or ‘European way’) but that shapes something that will work harmoniously with Brazil’s wealth natural capital and will unlock the vast potential of the so called “Expanding Middle” classes. Many share the vision of a more equitable and decentralized economy with an empowered and competent civil society; vast investment in the wealth of renewable energy available to Brazil and evolving and disruptive business models that create prosperity for all.
This is such an interesting macro challenge. The power is shifting in the world. New economies and future leaders are emerging, yet leadership and economic power is being built in the very same way that has shown to fail Europe and the US in this century. This is a pivotal time for leadership. The opportunity is now to redirect these ‘future’ economies, to develop a new identity and new economic models that will serve the new powers over the long term. BRICS have an identity but do they have the leadership to preserve this identity and ensure the power remains theirs in the long-term. Not if they follow our way!
