Après de multiples retards liés au Covid et à des problèmes techniques, le premier vol de la fusée européenne Ariane 6 est enfin annoncé.

“C’est le retour de l’Europe dans la course spatiale”, s’est réjoui mercredi 5 juin sur franceinfo Philippe Baptiste, président-directeur général du Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES) alors que la date du vol inaugural d’Ariane 6 est prévue le 9 juillet prochain. Initialement prévu en 2020, le décollage d’Ariane 6 a été reporté à maintes reprises en raison de la pandémie de Covid-19 et des difficultés techniques.

“Ariane 6 revient dans la course. Le carnet de commandes est archi plein. Il y a plus de 30 lancements qui sont déjà commandés sur Ariane 6”, a-t-il précisé. Philippe Baptiste assure “que tout le monde est très, très content d’avoir un compétiteur qui revient aujourd’hui face à la solution qui devient quasi hégémonique d’Elon Musk” avec Space X.

Franceinfo : C’est le lancement à ne pas rater ?

Philippe Baptiste : C’est fondamental ! L’Europe revient dans la course. Le programme a du retard. Depuis un an, l’Europe n’avait plus d’accès à l’espace. C’était simplement très, très embêtant pour ne pas dire dramatique. On est très, très heureux évidemment d’avoir cette date à laquelle on croit et qui va arriver maintenant, très vite. C’est le retour de l’Europe dans la course spatiale. Cette capacité d’accès à l’espace est absolument fondamentale. Vous n’avez pas de spatial si vous n’avez pas de lanceur, si vous n’avez pas de fusées qui vous permettent d’accéder à l’espace. Ma priorité, c’est évidemment le retour en vol d’Ariane et l’arrivée en particulier de ce nouveau lanceur Ariane 6 qu’on attend tous avec beaucoup d’impatience.

Vous avez mis l’accent aussi sur l’environnement. Comment fait-on pour décarboner les lancements spatiaux européens à Kourou ?

Il y a énormément de travaux qui sont déjà menés. Nos priorités, c’est d’abord de décarboner la base progressivement. C’est installer des panneaux photovoltaïques, c’est demain de produire de l’hydrogène vert, produire des carburants verts, directement issus de la biomasse. C’est un travail de long terme. Ça ne va pas se faire en un claquement de doigts. Ce sont des investissements qui sont conséquents, mais c’est aussi du temps. Il faut aussi convaincre, il faut expliquer… Mais effectivement c’est une des priorités, on est très, très mobilisés sur cette feuille de route de la décarbonation.

Elon Musk, le milliardaire à la tête de SpaceX, a taclé Ariane 6 disant qu’une fusée qui n’est pas au moins en grande partie réutilisable n’a pas d’avenir. Que lui répondez-vous ?

La question de la réutilisabilité est évidemment une question clé. Il est très clair que l’Europe et nous aussi, collectivement, on n’a pas assez cru dans cette technologie. Il faut maîtriser cette technologie. On a lancé depuis quelques années plusieurs programmes qui vont permettre à la France, au CNES et à l’Europe aussi, d’accéder à cette technologie de la réutilisabilité. Pour autant, ce n’est pas l’alpha et l’oméga. Ça dépend de vos besoins.

Aujourd’hui, c’est absolument clé pour Elon Musk parce qu’il doit répondre à ses propres besoins qui sont de lancer de très, très, très nombreux satellites de télécommunications en orbite basse pour Starlink. Dans ce cas-là, vous avez besoin d’avoir des cadences infernales et vous avez absolument besoin d’un lanceur réutilisable. La question est un petit peu différente pour nous aujourd’hui en Europe, à tort ou à raison. Aujourd’hui, je n’ai pas à commenter SpaceX.

Tout le monde est très content d’avoir un compétiteur qui revient aujourd’hui face à la solution qui devient quasi hégémonique d’Elon Musk.

Vous vous inscrivez dans un duel direct avec SpaceX ?

Non, ce n’est pas une question de duel. Aujourd’hui en Europe, tant d’un point de vue économique, que d’un point de vue de la souveraineté, on a besoin d’avoir une autonomie d’accès à l’espace. C’est une priorité pour la France et pour l’Europe. On est extrêmement engagés là-dessus.

L’Agence spatiale européenne vient de lancer un programme de soutien d’entreprises européennes pour développer un vaisseau, d’abord de fret, peut-être un jour un “habité”. L’Europe en a-t-elle les moyens ?

On développe un cargo, c’est-à-dire qui n’est pas habité. Ce n’est pas un développement à la mode classique. On l’a déjà beaucoup fait. La question, c’est comment est-on capable de faire des cargos avec des capsules qui sont capables de faire l’aller-retour entre la Terre et la station spatiale ou les stations spatiales futures ? On veut les faire pas chers. C’est ça qui est fondamental. On veut faire ça avec des coûts qui sont extrêmement bas. Pour ça, on change radicalement notre manière de faire. La France est très allante sur le sujet. En particulier, on veut avoir de l’achat de services, c’est-à-dire donner aux industriels une très grande liberté, une très grande autonomie et une très grande responsabilité. Nous, on est là évidemment pour les aider et consolider leur business plan, c’est-à-dire leur garantir qu’à la fin, on va bien leur acheter du service.

On peut faire bien et pas cher ?

J’en suis absolument convaincu. On a tous les industriels en Europe qui sont capables de le faire aujourd’hui. On a des talents absolument incroyables dans le spatial. On a une ambition qui est extrêmement forte. Il faut y aller maintenant. Il faut démontrer qu’on est capable à la fois de continuer ce qu’on a fait, mais de nous renouveler profondément.

Read the article on the website of Franceinfo

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/aeronautique/vol-inaugural-d-ariane-6-le-9-juillet-c-est-le-retour-de-l-europe-dans-la-course-spatiale-se-rejouit-le-pdg-du-cnes_6586296.html

Nuclearelectrica (SNN) and Canadian Nuclear Partners (CNPSA) have signed a long-term framework agreement to provide Project Management Organization (PMO) services for the preparation and implementation of the Cervavoda Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 refurbishment project in Romania.

This framework agreement has an approximate value of 240 million EUR and represents an essential step in the completion of the Cernavoda Unit 1 refurbishment in compliance with the established development stages. Under the agreement, CNPSA, a subsidiary of Laurentis Energy Partners (Laurentis), will support SNN by providing:

• Project management services
• Technical assistance
• Consulting services
• Training specific to CANDU plant refurbishment, and
• Organization and coordination of Unit 1’s commissioning, up to its return to commercial operation

The Framework Agreement builds on an earlier agreement signed between SNN and Laurentis, through CNPSA, in 2021 to develop a conservation program for reactor water systems during refurbishment.

Ontario Ministers Todd Smith and Stephen Lecce, Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja, and Canada’s Ambassador to Romania, Gavin Buchan, along with representatives from CNPSA, SNN, Laurentis, and Ontario Power Generation, were on hand for the June 11 signing ceremony in Bucharest.

“The world is watching as Ontario continues to deliver multi-billion-dollar CANDU nuclear refurbishment projects on time and on budget” said Ontario Minister Todd Smith. “We’re ready to support our allies, leveraging all that experience and expertise to support the refurbishment of Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 so it can continue to deliver reliable and clean energy for generations to come, and provide continued energy security.”

“With increasing geopolitical volatility, it is clear that countries around the world are looking for stable democratic energy partners that offer clean, reliable and affordable energy — and Ontario is once again answering that call,” said Ontario Minister of Energy and Electrification Stephen Lecce. “We are proud to partner with Romania to deliver this major refurbishment that is going to support energy security in Europe while creating new economic opportunities for workers in both of our countries.”

“We are looking forward to working with CNPSA to further advance the refurbishment of Cernavoda NPP Unit 1. Highly professional and robust project management, with combined Canadian and Romanian experience, will enable Romania to benefit from clean, safe, and reliable energy for another 30 years beyond 2029” said Cosmin Ghita, CEO of Nuclearelectrica. “Romania and Canada have been working together for more than 50 years in the nuclear industry and they continue to do so by fostering strategic projects to advance energy security, decarbonization and economic development.”

“We are proud to partner with SNN to provide the leading-edge PMO services needed to successfully carry out this large-scale project, which will ensure a long-term reliable and affordable source of clean electricity for the people and industries of Romania” said Jason Van Wart, CEO of CNPSA. “We are pleased to leverage our decades of experience with Canadian-made CANDU technology to help deliver the Unit 1 refurbishment project on time and on budget and demonstrate how Canadian nuclear experts can support clean energy projects in other parts of the world”.

Read the article on the website of The Diplomat

Nuclearelectrica and Canadian Nuclear Partners sign framework agreement for Cernavoda NPP Unit 1 refurbishment project

Au lendemain de la libération de quatre otages israéliens à Gaza, Gilles Kepel, auteur de “Holocaustes” aux éditions Plon, était l’invité du Grand Rendez-vous Europe 1/CNews/Les Échos dimanche. Pour le professeur des universités, il s’agit d’un “tournant symbolique”.

The West must strongly deter – without foreclosing a future reconciliation between Taipei and Beijing.

Read the article on the website of The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/06/kevin-rudd-china-taiwan-deterrence/

Politique étrangère, vol. 89, n° 2, été 2024

Transmutex, cette entreprise suisse a développé une solution innovante pouvant réduire le volume des déchets nucléaires de 80 %. Une technologie révolutionnaire qui pourrait changer le paysage énergétique mondial.

Le devenir des déchets nucléaires est incertain, raison pour laquelle leur gestion est, depuis des années, au cœur des préoccupations environnementales. En France, par exemple, on dénombre environ 1 200 producteurs de déchets radioactifs et plus de la moitié de ces déchets provient de l’industrie électronucléaire, selon l’Andra. Dans le monde, approximativement 10 000 m³ de déchets de haute radioactivité et 200 000 m³ de déchets à faible et moyenne radioactivité sont produits chaque année. Face à cette problématique, la société Transmutex, basée à Genève, a développé une technologie innovante permettant d’atténuer leur impact environnemental, en utilisant une variété de matériaux combustibles tels que le thorium.

Un procédé basé sur la transmutation

La technologie mise au point par Transmutex n’est nul autre que la transmutation, visant à convertir des éléments radioactifs en leurs isotopes ou en d’autres éléments complètement différents. Les anciens scientifiques du CERN ont utilisé un accélérateur de particules et un assemblage combustible sous-critique pour transformer le thorium, un métal légèrement radioactif que l’on trouve dans les sols et les roches, en un isotope de l’uranium. Cet accélérateur, relié à une usine de fission nucléaire, permet de traiter immédiatement l’uranium nouvellement généré afin qu’il ne produise pas de déchets hautement radioactifs, contrairement à l’uranium utilisé dans les centrales nucléaires. Selon Transmutex, il offre plusieurs avantages par rapport aux réacteurs nucléaires autonomes traditionnels. Petite anecdote, ce serait l’ancien directeur général du CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire), Carlo Rubbia, qui aurait imaginé en premier cette technologie innovante.

Une technologie permettant de réduire efficacement les déchets nucléaires à vie longue

Selon la Nagra (Société coopérative nationale pour le stockage des déchets radioactifs), cette technologie développée par Transmutex pourrait réduire le volume des déchets nucléaires de 80 % et leur période radioactive à moins de 500 ans. L’agence nationale suisse l’a déjà examiné minutieusement et est arrivée à une conclusion selon laquelle, elle représente une avancée significative dans la gestion de ce type de déchets. Ce procédé innovant pourrait jouer un rôle crucial pour l’avenir de l’énergie propre et durable, surtout dans le contexte actuel où l’on est constamment en quête de solutions durables et sûres pour gérer l’énergie nucléaire. Toutefois, selon la société genevoise, il y a des défis à relever, surtout en termes de coût. Il semblerait que construire cet accélérateur de particules à proximité de chaque centrale pourrait s’avérer très couteux.

Des levées de fonds pour accélérer la recherche et le développement de l’accélérateur de particules

Pour accélérer le développement de sa technologie révolutionnaire et son déploiement à l’échelle mondiale, Transmutex a procédé à des levées de fonds, depuis 2020. Elle a obtenu un financement de plus de 20,6 millions d’euros auprès de l’Union Square Ventures et de Steel Atlas, deux fonds de capital-risque basés à New-York. La société suisse a reçu un large soutien dans la réalisation de cette solution énergétique nucléaire plus sûre, plus propre et plus durable. Celle-ci a attiré un grand nombre d’investisseurs, pour ne citer que Verve Ventures, FONGIT, HCVC, AlleyCorp, House Of Ventures, Presight Capital, etc. Pour information, la société Transmutex a été créée en 2019 par Franklin Servan-Schreiber. Composée d’anciens physiciens du CERN, elle s’est donnée pour mission de révolutionner l’énergie nucléaire.

Read the article on the website Neozone

D’anciens physiciens du CERN inventent une technologie qui réduit de 80 % la radioactivité des déchets nucléaires

President Kagame’s Vision for Africa’s Development Shines at WEF Special Meeting

President Paul Kagame recently showcased Rwanda’s remarkable progress and emphasized the importance of collaboration and inclusive growth during his participation at the World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As a key panelist discussing “A New Vision for Global Development,” President Kagame highlighted Rwanda’s successful recovery journey driven by investments in human capital and innovative solutions. He underscored Africa’s positive growth trajectory and the need for global engagement to leverage the continent’s potential for economic advancement.

1. Rwanda’s Resilience and Sustainability Initiatives: President Kagame’s discussions with the IMF’s Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, underscored Rwanda’s pioneering efforts in climate change initiatives. The country’s collaboration with the IMF through the Resilience and Sustainability Trust sets a precedent for sustainable development in Africa.
2. Strategic Partnerships for Technological Advancement: President Kagame’s meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia focused on deepening cooperation in key sectors like technology and education. Such partnerships exemplify Rwanda’s commitment to embracing technological advancements for economic growth.
3. Africa’s Position in Global Affairs: President Kagame’s advocacy for Africa’s growing importance on the global stage highlighted the continent’s collective efforts towards economic progress. His call for the world to recognize Africa as a vital player in international politics and economy signifies a shift in global perspectives towards the continent.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, President Kagame’s active participation at the WEF special meeting not only showcased Rwanda’s development success but also emphasized the significance of collaboration, sustainable initiatives, and strategic partnerships for economic growth. His advocacy for Africa’s role in global affairs reflects a broader trend towards recognizing the continent’s potential and the need for inclusive, equitable development strategies in today’s interconnected world.

Read the article on the website of Africa24

https://africa24.it/en/2024/06/05/president-kagames-impactful-participation-at-the-world-economic-forum-special-meeting-in-riyadh/

CHRONIQUE – Alors que la nouvelle aide américaine éloigne l’hypothèse d’un effondrement militaire de l’Ukraine, Joe Biden serait bien avisé de se servir de la nouvelle position de force que lui a accordée le Congrès pour ouvrir des discussions avec la Russie sur un éventuel cessez-le-feu.

“Le fait de séjourner à l’étranger ne dispense pas un citoyen de ses devoirs envers la patrie”, a rappelé mardi le ministre ukrainien des Affaires étrangères Dmytro Kouleba sur X. Le gouvernement a par conséquent décidé que les consulats ne fourniraient plus de services aux hommes en âge de conscription.

M. Kouleba affirme que la protection des droits et des intérêts des citoyens ukrainiens à l’étranger a toujours été et reste une priorité pour le ministère des Affaires étrangères, mais “dans le même temps, dans les circonstances de l’agression à grande échelle par la Russie, la principale priorité est de protéger notre patrie de la destruction”. Il est donc inacceptable, ajoute-t-il, que les hommes en âge de conscription se rendent à l’étranger sans se soucier de la survie de leur État.

The pronouncement comes as tensions fray between Tbilisi and Brussels over a ‘Kremlin-inspired’ foreign agent law.

Georgia is unlikely to join the European Union any time soon, despite having been granted candidate status last year, the chairman of the country’s ruling party said on Saturday.

“Last December, we became a candidate country. The next step is joining,” Irakli Garibashvili told reporters on Saturday. “Today, we are not ready to become a member country.”

Despite widespread protests, the Georgian Dream politician and former prime minister defended a controversial new bill that would label NGOs, campaign groups and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad as agents of foreign influence. Critics say the legislation would drive a wedge between Georgia and the West and stifle opposition in the same way similar rules have in Russia.

“If we are told that tomorrow we will become a member of the EU, then it will be possible to very easily cancel it, revise, transform or adopt a new one,” Garibashvili said.

At the same time, he claimed that “there is no consensus a country can become a member of the EU today” because the bloc “is not ready for enlargement and it will take time and these next steps depend on many things.”

The EU has told Georgia the proposals, which have brought thousands onto the streets in protest in recent weeks, are incompatible with European values and should be withdrawn, while Washington branded the “Kremlin-inspired” legislation as an attack on civil society.

When the European Commission granted Georgia candidate status last year, it set out specific steps needed for the South Caucasus country to be admitted as a full member, including tackling political polarization and strengthening human rights protections. According to the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, passing the foreign agent law, as well as the government’s new proposals cracking down on LGBTQ+ rights, “would negatively impact Georgia’s progress on its EU path.”

A December 2023 poll conducted by the National Democratic Institute found that 79 percent of Georgian respondents supported their country’s EU membership ambitions.

Read the article on the website of Politico

https://www.politico.eu/article/georgia-not-ready-eu-membership-georgian-dream-irakli-garibashvili-russian-law-agent-bill-protest-tbilisi/

Dans son livre Holocaustes. Israël, Gaza et la guerre contre l’Occident (Plon), le politologue Gilles Kepel estime que le conflit entre Israël et le Hamas constitue un choc qui prend l’allure d’une guerre planétaire et a plus fracturé les sociétés occidentales que les attentats du 11 septembre 2001.

Dans votre livre, vous écrivez que l’attaque du Hamas contre Israël du 7 octobre 2023 est un moment de bascule. Pourquoi ?

« Elle marque un tournant dans le conflit israélo-palestinien et un autre dans l’organisation de l’ordre mondial, plus important que les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 qui n’avaient pas fracturé autant les sociétés occidentales. L’opération terrifiante du Hamas a fait voler en éclats le sentiment que l’État d’Israël était un refuge pour les Juifs. Le Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahou joue sa survie politique car il porte la responsabilité personnelle de ne pas avoir empêché Israël de subir…

Read the entire article on the website of L’Alsace

https://www.lalsace.fr/defense-guerre-conflit/2024/04/06/gilles-keppel-l-attaque-du-7-octobre-a-marque-un-tournant-dans-l-ordre-mondial

Official highlights Jordan’s role as voice of reason in supporting Palestinian cause.

After the American Civil War, Black people in the South were granted new political and civil rights, only for such gains to be reversed within a few decades by white supremacists. This column studies how dramatic institutional change in the Reconstruction era affected the political and socioeconomic outcomes of Black people in the American South. Reconstruction led to higher education, literacy, occupational status, and property ownership among the Black population. But changing laws and rules alone was not enough. The organised power of the state, including military power, was needed to enforce the legal changes.

One of the most prominent research agendas in political science and economics concerns the impact of institutions on comparative economic development. This literature can be traced back to the pioneering work of Nobel laureate Douglass North, including Davis and North (1971), North and Thomas (1973), North and Weingast (1989), and North (1990). These early studies laid the foundations for the seminal works of Sokoloff and Engerman (2000), who emphasise the impact of factor endowments on political and economic development, and Acemoglu and Robinson (2008), who contributed to our understanding of institutions by distinguishing between de jure and de facto political power.

In recent work (Frieden et al. 2024), we study how dramatic institutional change interacted with factor endowments in the American South during the Reconstruction era. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the victorious Union embarked on a massive social experiment. A million formerly enslaved adult men gained the right to vote, while many former Confederates were disenfranchised. Tens of thousands of federal troops occupied the former Confederacy, and nearly a thousand offices of the Freedmen’s Bureaus were set up across the region (Figure 1) to assist freed people in securing their political and legal rights, as well as to provide educational and social services. Eyewitness accounts suggest that this federal presence was important in securing the rights of the formerly enslaved. As one observer put it, “[t]he wrongs increase just in proportion to the distance from the US authorities” (White 2017: 69).

Black people, who made up a significant portion of the population of the South, took enthusiastic advantage of their new political and civil rights. The enfranchisement of freedmen in the former Confederacy led to the electoral dominance of the Republican Party, which was firmly committed to guaranteeing the legal and civil rights of freed people. This also resulted in the election of well over a thousand Black politicians, including many at the local and state level who were responsible for setting local policy and enforcing the law (Foner 1988). Freedmen’s Bureau offices helped to establish 4,300 schools that were educating 250,000 formerly enslaved children by 1870.

After the Hayes-Tilden agreement following the 1876 election, federal troops gradually returned to their barracks. Within a few decades, white supremacists reversed the political gains made by Black people and their white allies with a combination of extra-legal terror, legal manipulation, and fraud.

How did this massive political change affect the lives of Black people in the South? Did these major political reforms have an impact on the social and economic opportunities available to freed people? Did enfranchisement, political engagement, and civil rights – however transitory – lead to Black socioeconomic advances in the South? And did these changes, if any, persist after Reconstruction policies were largely reversed?

We use the location of federal troops and Freedmen’s Bureaus across Southern counties as an indicator of the intensity of Reconstruction, and the county’s cotton suitability as an indicator of the presence of an anti-Reconstruction planter elite. We then look at the political and socioeconomic outcomes for Black Americans in the former Confederacy to answer questions about the short- and longer-term consequences of Reconstruction.

We find that a greater federal presence during Reconstruction was associated with more Black political engagement, including higher Black voter registration, more votes for the Republican Party, and more Black office holders at the state and local levels. This effect was less pronounced in areas dominated by cotton plantations. Using data from the 1880 census, we find that areas that had a greater federal presence exhibited higher levels of school attendance by Black youths aged 6–16. We also find that the Black populations of these counties had higher literacy, average occupational status, and agricultural position – that is, a higher percentage in high-status/pay occupations (e.g. professions, managers, skilled craftsmen) and a lower percentage in low-status/pay occupations (e.g. farm labour). This effect, too, was less pronounced in cotton plantation regions.

We then use data from the 1900 and 1910 censuses to see if these effects were persistent. Again, we find that in counties where there had been a greater federal presence during Reconstruction, Black citizens were more likely to have higher-skilled/paid occupations, were more likely to be home and farm owners, and less likely to be share tenants nearly a quarter of a century after the end of Reconstruction. And, yet again, these effects are lessened in cotton plantation areas.

We further assess the mechanism that might have been at play in explaining our results. We find that greater Republican majorities and more Black local office holders in a county in the1870s led to higher local property tax rates – an effect that was reduced in cotton plantation areas. Previous work has shown that the election of Black politicians was associated with higher tax revenues and higher Black literacy rates and land tenancy (Logan 2020, Suryanarayan and White 2021). We believe that higher tax rates led to greater investment in local education during the Reconstruction period, and indeed they were associated with a higher proportion of Black children attending school. This investment led to long-term benefits for the formerly enslaved. Despite the concerted – and, ultimately, successful – effort by white supremacists to disenfranchise Blacks through all manner of legal and extra-legal tactics, the educational gains made during Reconstruction were less reversible and, as a consequence, had a lasting positive on Black socioeconomic achievement.

Our findings strongly suggest that the major institutional changes put in place during Reconstruction had many of the positive effects intended by their architects. Reconstruction facilitated, for a time at least, Black political empowerment. Combined with a strong federal presence, political empowerment had important and lasting socioeconomic effects. Black people and their allies in the former Confederacy were able to massively expand Black children’s access to education and to facilitate access to occupational and professional opportunities from which they had previously been excluded. Although white supremacists eventually reversed the enfranchisement of most Black men, the socioeconomic impact of the advances achieved during and after Reconstruction endured for decades.

The evidence presented here is very strongly in line with the proposition that political-institutional reforms to expand the franchise, especially to disadvantaged segments of the population, lead to improvements in the lot of those newly empowered. An important implication of the Reconstruction experience, however, is that formal institutional change is not enough to ensure long-term institutional change. At one level this is obvious, since the franchise was eventually stolen back by white supremacists. More to the point, the presence of federal troops and the Freedmen’s Bureau had a powerful impact on political and socioeconomic outcomes; it took the power of the state to enforce the rights enumerated by formal legal changes. This suggests an important amendment, even corrective, to a simple – perhaps naïve – focus on institutions and institutional change as in and of themselves catalysts of political and socioeconomic change. In the Reconstruction context, institutional reform required the support of military might and dedicated government officials.

Another important corrective to the purely institutional view is that the underlying economic structure of the region affected the impact of the institutional changes. Counties in the cotton plantation zone lagged well behind the rest of the South, so much so that in some of our analyses being in a cotton region negated the impact of Black political engagement and federal presence. This is consistent with much of the secondary literature, which typically characterises cotton plantations as enclaves within which the planter elite could exercise major pressure on Black workers and could often manipulate local institutions to produce desired political results almost at will. The production structure affected social and political power and could in some instances overcome institutional change.

Reconstruction and the federal presence had direct, important, and long-lasting positive effects on a whole range of Black socioeconomic outcomes, including schooling, literacy, occupational status, and property ownership. The evidence we present demonstrates the profound and lasting impact that changes in political institutions can have on both political and socioeconomic outcomes. However, it also suggests some cautionary notes. First, it makes clear that changing institutions – laws and rules – is not sufficient to overcome historical disadvantages and entrenched opposition. In the case of Reconstruction, it took the organised power of the state – including military power, in ways that mattered at the very local level – to make meaningful and lasting change possible. Second, it makes clear that the underlying economic structure of an area can have a powerful impact on its susceptibility to reform. More specifically, the effects of political-institutional change can be stymied or blocked by entrenched interests, such as the cotton planter elite represented in the South. We believe that all these lessons remain relevant and are of profound interest and value, today.

Read this article on the website of Vox EU

https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/political-and-socioeconomic-effects-reconstruction-american-south

OPINION. Berlin et Paris doivent parler d’une même voix et régler leurs différends loin de la scène publique car ils font sinon le jeu de la Russie, écrit l’ancien ministre allemand vert Joschka Fischer, inquiet de l’affaiblissement de l’Union européenne.

La relation franco-allemande a toujours été compliquée et n’a jamais été dénuée de conflits ou de tensions. Tout le monde comprend que la coopération entre ces deux pays clés de l’Union européenne est nécessaire et dans l’intérêt de l’ensemble du bloc. Ils n’ont cependant jamais complètement surmonté leur rivalité actuelle – et historique.

Les financiers Bertrand Badré et François Faure appellent, dans une tribune au « Monde », à l’introduction d’un principe démocratique dans la gestion de l’épargne, afin de mieux refléter la préférence sociale pour un avenir durable.

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https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/03/22/finance-verte-notre-epargne-est-un-bulletin-de-vote-qui-construit-le-monde-de-demain_6223525_3232.html

« Si tu veux faire rire Dieu, parle-lui de tes plans », dit le proverbe. Combien de gérants de fonds ont vu leurs plans déjoués par le Covid-19, la guerre en Ukraine ou le retour de l’inflation ; comment prendre en compte, dans les allocations d’actifs, le danger Trump, les tensions autour de Taïwan, la poussée des extrêmes droites en Europe ? Ces crises multiples sont pour certaines imprévisibles, et pour la plupart échappent à toutes les législations, en défiant parfois la raison. Nous sommes contraints de les affronter comme des poussées tectoniques.

Mais d’autres faits – le réchauffement climatique, l’effondrement de la biodiversité, la raréfaction des ressources naturelles – sont connus : sur ceux-ci les Etats, les entreprises, les consommateurs et la finance peuvent agir. Ces faits-là nous obligent à une transformation de nos modes de vie : devenir plus sobres et plus solidaires. Nous n’avons pas le choix, nous sommes embarqués, comme le disait en son temps le philosophe Emmanuel Mounier (1905-1950).

A la racine de ces faits, il y a évidemment la question de la quête du profit, indispensable aux investissements pour la transformation de l’économie et défini par les normes comptables internationales. A quelques exceptions près, les entreprises labellisées B Corp, soit la plupart des grandes entreprises cotées, ne sont pas des entreprises à mission. Elles sont calées sur l’objet social de l’entreprise, qui est le profit pour les actionnaires. La responsabilité fiduciaire des représentants des actionnaires est la défense de leurs intérêts financiers. C’est l’orthodoxie.

Le profit n’est qu’un moyen

Mais nous voyons bien qu’il y a déconnexion entre cette orthodoxie et le réchauffement climatique. Un profit qui ne prend pas en compte ces contraintes est un faux profit, car il soustrait de l’argent au corps social et à la nature, sans se préoccuper de leur pérennité.

Une responsabilité fiduciaire « responsable » a donc deux faces : celle de l’objet social des entreprises (entreprises à mission) et celle des investisseurs à la recherche d’un rendement associant des critères de durabilité.

Read the entire article on the website of Le Monde

https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2024/03/22/finance-verte-notre-epargne-est-un-bulletin-de-vote-qui-construit-le-monde-de-demain_6223525_3232.html

PUBLISHED MARCH 21, 2024

Read the article on the website of The Globe and Mail

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-indo-pacific-strategys-fatal-blind-spot/

The act sets targets, timelines and new risk assessment mandates.

CHRONIQUE – À l’heure où ni l’Ukraine ni la Russie n’imaginent d’autre issue que la victoire, une réflexion à la lumière des exemples du passé s’impose pour envisager la fin de la guerre.

À l’occasion de la publication de son nouvel ouvrage, Grands Diplomates, l’ancien ministre des Affaires étrangères analyse les derniers développements de la guerre en Ukraine.

By keeping interest rates steady, the European Central Bank may be hoping to tackle the impact of its poor past decisions.

Last week, the European Central Bank (ECB) held a session where they chose to keep the key interest rates unchanged. This decision came as a disappointment to many who were hoping for a slight reduction, given that inflation seemed to be under control.

However, the situation may not be that straightforward. Across the eurozone, unions are advocating for significant wage increases, with some demands in Germany reaching double-digit percentages. The costs of these wage hikes will likely be passed on to consumers to a certain extent, unless they are balanced by an increase in labor productivity. Unfortunately, productivity gains in the eurozone have been modest at best, hovering around 1 percent in recent years, and it is unrealistic to expect a sharp improvement soon.

In the longer term, these persistently high levels of debt and staggering public deficits – fueled by excessive administrative spending and inefficiency – will lead to monetary destabilization and create potent inflationary pressures.

It seems the ECB is beginning to acknowledge the genuine risk of inflation. The bank has been a significant enabler of public deficits through its extensive quantitative easing program, which contradicted its own guidelines. Now, it appears the bank is grappling with the consequences of its past actions.

Read the article on the website of GIS

https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/ecb-inflation-2/

L’Organisation mondiale du commerce est paralysée depuis cinq ans. En son absence, la loi de la jungle qui s’impose dans les négociations bilatérales est une « régression qui ne profite qu’aux Etats-Unis et à la Chine », prévient Philippe Chalmin.

Autrefois, c’est-à-dire il y a une bonne trentaine d’années, les réunions portant sur le commerce international organisées dans le cadre du GATT étaient des événements marquants sur la scène mondiale. A Seattle, à Hong Kong ou à Genève, les débats étaient certes dans la salle, mais surtout dans les rues : c’était l’époque où les « altermondialistes » fustigeaient l’Uruguay Round qui se négociait alors.

Les manifestations étaient souvent violentes comme d’ailleurs à l’occasion des sommets du G7. La « société civile » y gagna ses premiers galons. Nostalgiques du « nouvel ordre économique international » des années 1970, celui qui avait été dominé par la conférence des Nations unies sur le commerce et le développement (Cnuced) et dont l’échec avait été patent, les contestataires s’opposaient à la « mondialisation libérale » dont le GATT, puis l’OMC, semblaient être le nom.

Read the entire article on the website of Les Echos

https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/editos-analyses/requiem-pour-lomc-2082097

CHRONIQUE – Si l’État hébreu persévère dans la riposte militaire sans envisager la création d’un État palestinien, il laisse planer le spectre d’une guerre sans fin.

Paul Kamage, 66 ans, dirige le Rwanda d’une main de fer depuis le milieu des années 1990 et a remporté la présidence, à chaque fois avec plus de 90 % des voix, lors des élections de 2003, de 2010 et de 2017.

Le parti au pouvoir au Rwanda, le Front patriotique rwandais (FPR), a désigné, samedi 9 mars, le président du pays, Paul Kagame, comme son candidat à l’élection présidentielle du 15 juillet, pour un probable quatrième mandat de sept ans.

Le FPR a déclaré l’avoir élu, sans opposition, lors d’un congrès qui s’est terminé samedi. Paul Kamage, 66 ans, dirige le Rwanda d’une main de fer depuis le milieu des années 1990 et a remporté la présidence, à chaque fois avec plus de 90 % des voix, lors des élections de 2003, de 2010 et de 2017.

L’un de ses rares concurrents au scrutin présidentiel est le chef du Parti vert, dans l’opposition, Frank Habineza. Député de 47 ans, ce dernier n’a obtenu que 0,45 % des voix à la présidentielle de 2017. Il est donné troisième par les sondages actuels, critiqués par les associations de défense des droits pour leurs irrégularités et les intimidations à l’encontre des électeurs.

Elections présidentielle et législatives à la même date

L’autre concurrente possible de M. Kagame, Victoire Ingabire, leader du mouvement non enregistré DALFA-Umurunzi (« développement et liberté pour tous »), est à ce stade exclue de la course à la présidentielle en raison d’une condamnation antérieure. Une décision de justice, prévue le 13 mars, dira si elle est autorisée ou non à se présenter à cette élection.

Le Rwanda prévoit ses élections présidentielle et législatives le 15 juillet, conformément à une décision l’an dernier du gouvernement d’organiser ces scrutins à la même date.

Vingt-quatre femmes parlementaires, deux représentants des jeunes et un représentant des Rwandais souffrant de handicaps seront par ailleurs choisis par des collèges et comités électoraux le 16 juillet. Les candidats pourront faire campagne du 22 juin au 12 juillet, selon la commission électorale.

Le Rwanda se présente comme l’un des pays les plus stables du continent africain, mais plusieurs groupes de défense des droits humains accusent M. Kagame de le diriger dans un climat de peur, étouffant la dissidence et la liberté d’expression.

Read the article on the website of Le Monde

https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/03/09/au-rwanda-le-parti-au-pouvoir-designe-paul-kagame-comme-candidat-a-la-presidentielle_6221084_3212.html

La WJRO a révélé le noms d’économies majeures et d’États membres de l’UE en infraction lors d’un événement co-organisé par le Département d’État en faveur de la restitution.

https://fr.timesofisrael.com/24-etats-nont-que-peu-ou-pas-progresse-dans-la-restitution-doeuvres-spoliees/

Le professeur à l’Ecole d’économie de Paris et ancien économiste en chef du Fonds monétaire international redoute que l’Europe ne cherche à réduire trop vite ses déficits publics, au moment où la croissance ralentit.

A l’heure où les tensions croissantes déstabilisent l’économie mondiale, la France doit augmenter ses dépenses de défense contre la Russie et contre le réchauffement climatique, s’alarme Olivier Blanchard. Professeur à l’Ecole d’économie de Paris et ancien économiste en chef du Fonds monétaire international (FMI), il estime également que les coupes budgétaires de 10 milliards d’euros annoncées par Bercy n’interviennent pas au bon moment et manquent de clarté.

Vous aviez sonné l’alarme à propos de la dette publique en novembre 2023, quand les taux américains dépassaient les 5 %. Ils sont redescendus depuis. Le pire est-il derrière nous ?

J’étais surtout inquiet à propos de l’énorme déficit primaire américain qui, même si les taux baissent, fera gonfler la dette publique. Il est vrai que les Etats-Unis ont un énorme avantage : leurs bons du Trésor sont considérés comme sans risque et prisés des investisseurs – ils peuvent donc s’endetter plus largement que n’importe quel autre pays.

Mais il y a une limite. On peut imaginer un scénario où une administration Trump continue de creuser les déficits jusqu’à ce que les investisseurs se demandent s’il n’y a pas un risque. Cela se traduirait par une série de petites crises : des obligations qui peinent à trouver preneurs, une hausse de taux d’intérêt qui effraie le Congrès, des efforts qui se révèlent insuffisants pour rassurer les marchés. Ce qui pourrait finir par déclencher une crise conséquente.

L’Europe, elle, renoue avec la rigueur budgétaire. Commet-elle la même erreur qu’en 2011, quand l’austérité avait étouffé la reprise ?

Réduire le déficit trop vite quand l’activité freine risque en effet d’accentuer le ralentissement.

Read the entire article on the website of Le Monde

https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2024/03/04/olivier-blanchard-il-faut-etre-pret-a-soutenir-encore-l-economie_6219898_3234.html

La Géorgie s’intéresse au développement du processus de conclusion d’un traité de paix entre l’Arménie et l’Azerbaïdjan et offre sa plate-forme de négociation à ses voisins fiables.
« Nous avons espoir qu’Erevan et Bakou parviendront à un accord » a affirmé Vice-ministre des Affaires étrangères de Géorgie Lasha Darsalia qui l’a annoncé lors du Forum diplomatique en cours à Antalya, rapporte Infoport.

Selon lui, la paix dans la région est importante pour Tbilissi et la partie géorgienne espère qu’Erevan et Bakou parviendront à un accord dont les deux parties bénéficieront.
Lasha Darsalia a affirmé que la Géorgie voit, comprend et prend en compte certaines difficultés qui existent dans les négociations bilatérales entre l’Arménie et l’Azerbaïdjan. À cette fin, Tbilissi avait déjà pris l’initiative d’un bon voisinage pacifique et avait proposé son soutien aux deux pays dans la conduite des négociations. « Il est clair pour nous que nous devons encourager la collaboration plutôt que de laisser entrer des acteurs extérieurs dans notre arène. »

Il a souligné qu’il n’y a pas d’alternative à la paix dans la région, c’est pourquoi Tbilissi soutient les négociations et l’établissement de la stabilité dans le Sud-Caucase.
« Il y a quelques mois, nous avons renouvelé nos relations avec l’Arménie, les portant au niveau de partenariat stratégique. Nous pensons que cela apportera une grande contribution au processus de coopération dans la région », a-t-il déclaré.

Read the article on the website of Nouvelles d’Arménie Magazine

https://www.armenews.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=113283

Carl Bildt adds that Ukraine accession to alliance is a question of ‘when, not if’.

TOKYO — Sweden’s successful bid to join NATO will increase cooperation between the EU and the military alliance, the country’s former Prime Minister Carl Bildt said in an interview during a trip to Tokyo.

Bildt spoke to Nikkei while he was in Japan after visiting Kyiv in late February to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“They are very determined to continue to fight,” he said of the political leaders and soldiers he met in the Ukrainian capital.

While some analysts have pointed to “Ukraine fatigue” growing in some Western countries over the prolonged conflict, Bildt said, “I don’t see any Ukraine fatigue in Europe, really.”

“There’s a lot of determination to do whatever we can in order to support Ukraine,” he said.

Sweden’s NATO membership was approved by Hungary’s parliament on Monday, the last hurdle to membership. With the addition of Finland, which had also maintained a neutral stance, security cooperation between the West and the Baltic Sea area will be strengthened.

The joining of Sweden and Finland “gives a new strategic depth to the north of Europe and increases the defense potential of the three Baltic States,” Bildt said.

Bildt commented on Sweden’s ability to help deter Russia, including plans to send a battalion to Latvia. “While Sweden in the past, our defense has been sort of purely national within our borders…now it’s going to be within a broader framework,” he said.

In his annual address to the Federal Assembly on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “We need to shore up the forces in the western strategic theatre in order to counteract the threats posed by NATO’s further eastward expansion, with Sweden and Finland joining the alliance.”

Some analysts have warned that expanding NATO could provoke Russia. Bildt rejected this, saying, “This war is also going to weaken Russia for quite some time to come.”

“Their army has taken a lot of casualties and a lot of losses,” he added. “So, we are going to deal with a militarily significantly weaker Russia for quite some time to come.”

He said Sweden and Finland joining NATO was “a significant strategic setback” for Putin.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that nothing should be ruled out concerning a future deployment of troops to Ukraine.

“I don’t know what happened,” Bildt said of Macron’s comments. “I think that was profound misunderstanding and miscommunication on that issue, because I mean, that issue has never been on the agenda,” he added, indicating that mobilizing troops was not Europe’s consensus.

Regarding Ukraine’s potential addition to NATO, Bildt acknowledged some hesitation in the U.S. as the November election approaches, but said Ukraine’s accession was “a question of when, not if.”

Ukraine has also applied to join the European Union. Concerning the timing, Bildt said that if the political will is there, “within five years should be possible.”

He also spoke about the challenges that would come should Donald Trump win a second presidential term in the U.S.

“I think the biggest danger is to the Americans themselves, that they will have a presidency concentrated on domestic revenge,” he said.

Pointing specifically to Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Bildt said, “If you listen to what he says in his speeches and his interviews, it’s all about backward-looking things.”

Regarding a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Bildt said that while he doesn’t see any big risk for now, “things could change.”

“We will see what the new president [of Taiwan Lai Ching-te] says when he has his inauguration speech in May,” he said, adding that “Beijing’s reaction in this election has been fairly muted, which is a good sign.”

While Europe faces challenges regarding relations with China in areas like economic and trade competition, as well as human rights in Hong Kong, Bildt said there is a need to build a constructive relationship with China on things like climate change and artificial intelligence.

Read the article on the website of NIkkei Asia

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Sweden-joining-NATO-bolsters-Northern-Europe-s-defense-ex-PM-says

Politics is often messy, but it’s how society puts a value on things economists can’t measure

Even as the United States took its place as the world’s preeminent economic power after World War II, manufacturing firms fled towns in the Northeast and Midwest, leaving behind rusting steel mills and scarred communities. Society as a whole became richer as new industries sprang up elsewhere, but many rust belt communities are still dealing with the consequences of deindustrialization.

The US postwar economic transformation is one example of how policies and trends that increase aggregate social welfare can have painful distributional effects: they beget winners and losers. This makes them controversial. Controversy is no reason to avoid an economic policy, especially if the policy makes society substantially better-off. Policymakers often struggle to persuade the public to accept economic policies that improve well-being. To make them more palatable to the public, policymakers must recognize that policies and trends take place in a broader social and political environment. It is vital that policies gain the acceptance of important social and political actors.

Economics is good at identifying policies that could raise aggregate social welfare. One such policy is free trade. Virtually all economists believe that most economies could be improved by removing barriers to trade. No sensible economist or policymaker pretends that this is costless: while consumers and exporters may benefit, firms and industries that have trouble competing with imports are likely to suffer.

There is a simple economic solution. If a social-welfare-improving policy creates losers, the benefits it generates for society can be used to compensate those harmed. The government can tax those advantaged by trade liberalization—exporters, consumers—to help those disadvantaged, autoworkers for instance. Since by definition the policy increases social welfare, spreading the gains will still leave society better-off, only in a more equitable fashion than if we simply left newly unemployed autoworkers to fend for themselves.

Compensation’s problems

Compensation may be simple and powerful in theory, but it’s not easy in practice. Those who gain from a new policy—such as consumers and exporters when trade is liberalized—are rarely enthusiastic about having some of their gains taxed away. Compensation can be costly and politically difficult, which is why it happens far less frequently than economists would recommend.

Compensation can be difficult for other, more complex, reasons. One is timing: in some cases the appropriate measure would be for one generation to compensate another. For instance, there might be a certain equity, as well as mutual benefit, in asking future generations to contribute to the society of 2024 if the latter bore the cost of tackling climate change—for example, to address jobs lost to the green transition. But how do we get “the future” to pay up? One way would be for the government to borrow and let the debt-service payments fall on future generations. Sensible as this may be in practice, it risks the prospect of debt burdens that are not sustainable. Indeed, it is hardly in a country’s long-term interest to tempt current legislatures to bankrupt governments of the future, and financial markets may not let them—they may be unwilling to fund debts they consider excessive.

Another problem with compensation is that it’s often unclear exactly who will be helped and harmed by a policy. There is almost always uncertainty about how a complex economy will react to change. Economists may have faith in their models, but workers and managers may be less confident in their predictions. The danger of subjecting constituents to unknown risks can make legislators wary of battling for one policy or another.

A related obstacle to compensation is lack of credibility. Governments can promise to make things right for those who may be harmed by, say, freer trade or climate policy. But, at least in democratic countries, governments change. Newly elected officials, often having attained office by criticizing their predecessors, are not always keen to maintain their predecessors’ policies. Many administrations don’t even keep their own promises, let alone those of others. In a world where both outcomes and government policies can vary, those who think they might be affected have plenty of reasons to be cautious.

The most serious reservations about compensation may be noneconomic. Economic analysis focuses on the purely material or pecuniary impact of policies and trends, and of eventual compensation. People, though, may be concerned about less clearly material impacts that are hard to put a price on.

For instance, trade liberalization has contributed to the decline of traditional manufacturing in the US industrial belt—as well as in the north of England, northern France, eastern Germany, and other formerly industrial areas. When the jobs go, there is clearly an economic cost, in lost jobs, wages, tax revenue, and general economic activity.

Distressed regions

But distressed regions may lose something just as real, though less tangible, as well-paying jobs. A small city or town whose factories close can enter a downward socioeconomic spiral: incomes decline, property values and property taxes plummet, local services suffer, and the community’s social fabric unravels. This was the prelude to an epidemic of “deaths of despair” by alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicide (Case and Deaton 2020). Even when the impact is not so acute, when Main Street goes dark, the quality of life—for everyone in town—suffers. The collapse of a stable economic base undermines the foundations of the community (Broz, Frieden, and Weymouth 2021).

A common remedy is to encourage those left without work to move to places where jobs are available. This can be difficult or impossible for economic reasons, since those wanting to move from depressed areas are often saddled with plummeting home values. Residents may be reluctant to move for nonpecuniary reasons, too. They may have family and extended family in the area, decades of friends and neighbors, and attachments to local traditions. Depressed or not, it’s what they know, and it’s home.

The deterioration of coal mining regions illustrates the problem. The coal industry has been declining for years because of both environmental concerns and technological change—and more recently, of course, climate policies. Its decline has devastated entire areas—and not just the coal miners (Blonz, Tran, and Troland 2023). Many coal mining communities were isolated, and few were economically diversified, so once the decline set in there was little to break their fall. One World Bank study found that of 222 Appalachian coal counties, only four had managed to remain “economically viable” (Lobao and others 2021). East and West coast city dwellers may be scarcely aware of them, yet millions of people lived in coal counties, often in tight-knit towns where families had lived for generations bound by social, cultural, and religious ties.

The cost of leaving your family’s historical community is not solely monetary—it means giving up all those personal ties. And there’s no point in asking people what it would take for them to leave: each person’s decision depends on the decisions of others. Why stay if everyone is leaving? Why leave if everyone is staying? And the future of the community may depend on whether its members stay together—and at least preserve the hope of forging a more promising future.

In this context, how can society weigh the consumer benefits of cheaper clothing or cars against the human costs of the collapse of cities and towns in Ohio, the Meuse Valley, or south Yorkshire? Some of these costs are certainly economic and might be suitable for monetary compensation. But some are noneconomic, with a value impossible to establish with any precision. How do you put a price on membership in a close-knit multigenerational community?

Politics as a measure

Society does, in fact, have a way to try to establish the relative importance of these difficult-to-measure values: politics. When we debate the merits of free trade versus local factories, or of coal and oil versus wind and sun, we are implicitly or explicitly discussing how heavily to weight the interests of consumers and producers, the harmed and the helped, current and future generations.

Most studies of trade politics, for example, show that elected officials are more likely to protect (with tariffs and other trade barriers) industries with low-wage workers than industries dominated by high-wage workers. There may be many reasons for this tendency; one reason is almost certainly that people have more sympathy for displaced low-wage workers. In another context, city dwellers who have never lived on a farm appear willing to pay more for their food in order to help sustain family farmers, largely out of a wistful attachment to and sympathy for the rural way of life.

Trade protection or farm subsidies may make political, if not economic, sense—and thus be entirely defensible. The political process weighs people’s values, including those that are hard to price. In this balance, caring deeply about something counts more than caring only a little—so it matters that consumers may care only a little about the price of toys, whereas the residents of a factory town may care a great deal about the cohesion of their community. In the political arena, intensely held views matter more than those that are held only lightly—and that is probably as it should be.

Politics is the mechanism by which societies make difficult choices among things that are often hard to compare. The choices are rarely perfect, and they are usually contentious. But this is how modern societies assess the value citizens place on their own values. It is in the political arena that people get to balance, say, the viability of a small town against the benefits to shoppers of cheaper clothing. Economic growth and progress matter a lot, but people care about other things too, and those other cares deserve consideration.

Oscar Wilde wrote of those who know the price of everything but the value of nothing. It would be fairer and more accurate—and more useful—to note that economists are able to put a price on many things, but not on everything of value. Democratic politics may not give us a universally accepted sense of the value of priceless things—such as community, culture, and family. But it can tell us something about how members of society feel about these things and how they weigh them against each other.

Read this article on the website of the IMF

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2024/03/A-Place-for-Politics-Jeffry-Frieden