Dan Olofsson: Time for Europe
to move forward
DEBATE. There are talented people who can capture a course of events in a few words, and I want to highlight three such quotes that have bearing on what is happening in the world right now.
If your ideology is that the cost for most people working in the public sector is a waste of taxpayers’ money, then you can use a chainsaw to make drastic cuts, like Elon Musk. If you also pursue the America First line, then it is only natural to cut back on things that affect other countries.
Such a mindset makes it possible to dismantle USAIDS which supports millions of people, in many countries, who are suffering from serious illnesses or starvation.
Bill Gates hits the nail on the head when he says “The world’s richest man is murdering the world’s poorest children through the drastic cuts in the USAIDS budget.”
The US turns inwards
The US population has democratically elected Donald Trump as president and Elon Musk has his support. This choice of ‘America First’, probably means that we will have to live with the US now turning inwards for a few years. The protectionist tariff war is a good example of this.
Historically, the US, as a leading democratic superpower, has built up alliances between democratic states around the globe in an exemplary manner. By comparison, Russia is seen to be strengthening ties with rogue states such as North Korea, Iran and Venezuela.
The effects of the change that Donald Trump is now driving are well formulated by another of the world’s wealthiest people, the skilled and experienced financier Warren Buffet “It’s a big mistake in my view when you have 7.5 billion people who don’t like you very well, and you have 300 million who are crowing about how they have done”.
The consequence of the course of events we are in is an emerging vacuum in the world. Should China be the one to move forward now that the US is turning inward and snubbing the rest of the world? Should those most affected be left to their fate? Can filling this vacuum be prioritized when most governments are focusing on increased defense spending?
These are difficult and wide-reaching questions.
As the US turns inwards, it is time for Europe to move forward its positions to protect the democratic world. Vacuums usually get filled, and the world will not benefit if dictatorships like China and Russia move forward their positions. In the world arena, both “hard power” and “soft power” are important. Skilled actors use both.
And what Europe needs to do now is to move forward its position when it comes to “soft power”.
The dismantling of US Aids will result in a significantly increased risk in the spread of HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, etc. Many non-profit organizations are affected. Many years of successful work to combat these diseases is at risk of coming to nothing.
The long-term value of increased European commitment
What we are talking about here, to increase funding by, for example, half of US Aids budget is 0.1 percent of Europe’s GDP. If Europe is to increase its defense spending to 3–4 percent of GDP, we are talking about an increase that is about 20 times greater.
There’s not much we can do about Donald Trump. But Michelle Obama gave us good advice in the 2016 presidential election campaign “When they go low, we go high”.
Now, when the focus is on increased defense spending, I think it would be wise to allocate a small portion to Europe’s “soft power”. After all, we have only one shared planet. If the important work that is currently in place is not allowed to continue, the harmful effects of an increase in disease will be significant and widespread. Especially in Africa, where the population is growing fastest, an increased commitment from Europe is of long-term value.
Dan Olofsson, entrepreneur and chairman of the non-profit organization Star for Life
Source: Aftonbladet
Translated by: Lois Petersson