For decades now, we have lived in societies characterized by high mobility of people and information, powerful new technological tools, rapid change, and a new relationship between ourselves and our environment. All of this creates new opportunities for progress while simultaneously generating new dangers and difficulties. It is no surprise, therefore, that there has been a significant increase in the desire to measure and publish numerical indices that portray both the positive and negative aspects of the evolution of many things. Below, I refer to a small selection of these indices that proves particularly revealing.
1. The growth of well-being. It is one of the most important indices, and one that is most actively being improved, but significant errors are often made in its measurement, as it is confused with the economic growth index. Two things must be understood. The first is personal: well-being depends on much more than personal income or a country's wealth, and must be considered alongside improvements in health, education, culture, social cohesion, and so on. The second is that it must be well distributed, and therefore must take into account the reduction of inequalities, both between individuals within a country and between nations. It is important that GDP grows, but it is very worrying when the Gini index, which measures inequality, also rises. growth Current growth is a false one, since a small number of people are accumulating ever more wealth. GDP growth, combined with an increase in poverty or unemployment, is by no means growth in well-being, and cannot be considered social progress.
2. The growth of insecurity. Measuring insecurity is very difficult because it has both a public and social aspect and a personal one. It's clear that the former greatly influences the latter, but character and, above all, each person's life experiences also play a significant role in whether they feel more secure or more insecure. In any case, it's clear that in contemporary European societies there is a real increase in insecurity, reflected in all surveys. We should be concerned that the perception of insecurity is growing as a result of the actual increase in problems on the street, at home, and with the devices we use—computers and mobile phones—as well as the growing dissemination of these problems in the media and on social networks. Authorities must improve surveillance both on the street and in the digital realm, and provide citizens with more and better information so they can be better equipped to protect themselves. Otherwise, the "every man for himself" mentality will continue to fuel the already significant distrust that many citizens have in governments.
3. The growth in arms purchases. Although there are no formal indices on the matter, a few days ago SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) published data which indicate a significant increase in the production and sale of all types of weapons. From the study, I highlight three figures: the total arms trade has increased by 6% in 2024, reaching almost $700 billion, of which nearly half corresponds to sales by US companies.
At the same time, many governments are showing support for increasing security spending to at least 5% of their GDP, a threshold that has become mandatory for NATO members. In this area, some of Europe's largest countries (Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom) are seeing annual increases in spending higher than they have in recent decades. These decisions are not only the result of pressure but also of fear that armed conflicts could erupt around the EU's borders in the coming years. Thus, Putin's threats and Russia's arms buildup are compounded by Trump's attitude toward Europe, which oscillates between neglect and increasingly open animosity, along with his protection of the abusive practices of large platforms. All of this is forcing European countries to allocate more resources to warfare, which could divert funds from education, healthcare, and social welfare programs whose necessity is undeniable.
The commitment to peace, collaboration, and cooperation among EU member states and with less developed countries over the past 80 years is well-known and respected. This commitment is now further strengthened by the context I have described. It is clear that Europe must intensify its efforts to the fullest extent to prevent conflict. This must be understood.
