For the past weeks France has been gripped by the protests of what are being called the gilets jeaunes (the yellow jackets). They first took to the streets to protest against a rising fuel tax ‒ a move since abandoned by the French government ‒ but the scope has become far greater. In fact, many of them were truck drivers and persons working in the motor transport sector. They have since been joined by students and others.

Protesters wearing yellow vests shout slogans as they take part in a demonstration of the ‘yellow vests’ movement in Paris, France. Photo: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Today, the movement includes persons of different ages, jobs and regions. It includes members of the working and middle classes, all affected by the higher cost of living in France. These protests reflect an anger against President Emmanuel Macron who was elected on a programme of economic reform but has not been seen to have delivered what he promised.

The results of the parliamentary elections in Italy last March also reflected such an anger against the traditional parties. That election resulted in a coalition of sorts between Movimento 5 Stelle and Lega Nord. Both are described as populist anti-establishment parties who managed to play on the feeling of fear that Italians are experiencing in relation to their job security and quality of life.

The French are experiencing a similar fear, best exemplified in what a pensioner claimed: “Everything is more expensive. Taxes are going up – housing, heating costs, cars. Everything is going up.”

Although I am against the use of violence and violent language in such protests, I do appreciate that these people may have a point. The truth is that we cannot have meaningful management of a national economy if we forget the human person. We cannot manage the economy by simply managing numbers because numbers and the human person do not sit happily side by side.

An economy that serves the people needs to take into account the common good

We need to put the human person at the centre of the economy, whereby the economy serves the person and not the other way. Economic policy should not dictate political decision-making but it should be political decision-making that dictates how an economy is managed. Hence the title of this week’s contribution.

In the past we have tended to sacrifice other things (not to use the word ‘everything’) for the sake of the economy. The tendency has been to subject everything to the rules of the economy, thereby giving the economy a supremacy over everything else. It is accepted that when an economy performs well, it has its benefits because of higher employment, more wealth creation and a better standard of living. As a result, governments are able to provide an adequate social welfare system, health services and an education system.

However, when an economy is not performing so well, governments still need to ensure that enough resources are being spent on social welfare, health and education. It is in such circumstances that an economy is tested as to whether it is really there to serve the people.

An economy that serves the people needs to take into account the common good. Pandering up to the desires of one group of persons in society at the expense of other groups will create imbalances that are then difficult to correct. As such there need to be very good motives as to why one particular group in society is to be preferred over other groups. And those motives cannot be electoral votes.

I believe that it is imperative that any person holding public office (and I do not mean only politicians but also persons who are in decision-making roles in the public sector) to take into account the needs of the common good constantly. Otherwise we cannot have social cohesion and we will continue to have strife, similar to what France has experienced in the past weeks.

Malta is not exempt from this risk. The excellent performance of our economy should make it more possible for us to ensure that we have an economy for the people and not the other way round.

A blessed Christmas to all.