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A little over a week after the U.S. election, and things are still a little foggy, even though everything, or almost everything, has been said.
There are plenty of theories to explain the voting results, and it will take time to fully understand them. It would seem that there is a major disconnect between urban elites and the rural world. Progressives are said to have let the workers down. That inflation was seen as more important than climate, and more. It seems like identity politics have been rejected. That Americans were not prepared to elect a woman. That billionaires could have bought the election. Algorithms were said to feed on misinformation and influence the vote. That the anti-establishment vote won out over the status quo, and so on.
There are probably elements of truth to each one of these statements, but I'm wary of one-size-fits-all explanations for complex phenomena, just as I'm wary of simplistic political solutions. According to an analysis by the Financial Times1, a worldwide trend is showing that, regardless of message or political affiliation, voters have decided to unseat incumbent leaders from pandemic and inflationary periods, as if to punish them.
But there's one thing that jumps out at me. The election results show that, whether consciously or not, Americans have opted for a strategy of avoidance in the face of current issues. And it's a trend that's also gaining ground here in Canada.
Is it a defense mechanism against the various crises and social problems that we're dealing with? Is it a consequence of the pandemic, which has contributed to a breakdown of our social ties and to the erosion of trust in our institutions? Whatever the cause, avoidance seems to be a common approach to dealing with current problems.
Regardless, this approach will not address the causes of the climate crisis or lessen its impact on our lives.
Some will say that the Democrats underestimated Americans' concerns over their declining purchasing power, symbolized by the rising cost of groceries.
Groceries are more expensive, both south of the border and here at home. So how can we combine our efforts to both reduce the cost of groceries and to find solutions to ensure that farmers receive an appropriate income? As the cost of groceries is rising, many local farmers are being forced to cut back or cease their operations completely.
We talk a lot about rising prices, but what are we doing to lighten the burden on consumers? How do we improve food supply and how do we make it easier for consumers to choose healthy foods that are less harmful to our environment? Coupons? Loyalty cards?
If it's getting harder and harder to produce and buy food, what kind of future can we expect for our food system next year, in 5 years, or even in 10 years, if the risk materializes that our agricultural system loses its ability to feed us because we failed to protect our farmland and take measures to improve the health of our soil, because we failed to encourage new farmers, because we failed to take climate action to limit crop losses caused by adverse weather conditions? If nobody asks the questions, we’re bound to avoid the solutions.
But it's not only in the agri-food sector where we're avoiding system-wide problems. We’re seeing it everywhere.
Congestion? People easily target bike paths, construction sites, poorly planned projects, and poorly maintained infrastructure to balance the budget and the orange cones. In short, anywhere but the most obvious reason: the ever-growing fleet of cars on our roads.
The increasing cost of transportation? People blame the carbon tax for driving up the price of gasoline, when in fact vehicle costs have almost doubled2 since the pandemic, to the great benefit of the auto manufacturers and their shareholders. All to avoid addressing the issue of wealth redistribution for the common good, and the inequalities in our economic system.
Avoidance is tempting to be sure. But we must take a deep breath and dare to face current problems head-on. In these challenging times, Équiterre's role is all the more important. We will continue our vital work, keeping an enlightened focus on environmental challenges and putting forward responsible solutions for citizens, organizations and governments.
