Change is an opportunity: Jean Monnet's lesson

Jean Monnet, a French economist and politician of extraordinary value, was, in the post-World War II period, one of the founding fathers of that alliance between states that later became the European Union, which, with all its limitations and contradictions to overcome, remains one of the most important and useful changes in the history of the Western world, not only in Europe.

Like all politicians of race, who do not waste their role only by occupying power and cultivating personal interests, Monnet knew well that all changes, whether individual or both when they concern entire communities, and even entire nations, must be built with patience, effort and also a significant dose of courage and vision of the future.

Change is not a free lunch. It comes at a cost that can mean giving up some things and also a series of extraordinary expenses. One of the reasons why Europe, whose founding fathers like Monnet dreamed of a united confederation of states, like the United States of America, is struggling to make progress is that no one, starting with the richest and most powerful nations in the EU, is truly willing to give up a piece of their sovereignty, which means power in the hands of their ruling classes.
Man lives by habits, and changing them, even when it means feeling better, is complicated, so much so that it's even impossible, in some cases. In this case, there are also interests that aren't always clear and obvious that are holding back change. How long did it take us, as humanity and as individuals, to reduce the habit of smoking everywhere and so much, to the point of eliminating cigarettes? How many lives do we continue to waste in the practice of a manifestly indefensible vice? Yet we know well the harms of cigarettes and how can it be quit smoking.
Crises help and make change necessary, because they serve to "open our eyes", to emerge from the sleep of indifference and immobility. The climate crisis, net of a small minority of deniers, in the pay of someone or of their stupidity, ignorance and bad faith, is there for all to see and represents the fundamental necessity, bordering on the struggle for survival, for which we must change, from lifestyles to energy supplies, from consumption to ways of producing.
Those who truly work and are committed to change, He can't even consider shelving it just because, in the short term, he risks losing support, or because a poll warns him that improving the air quality and safety of a city, with some unpopular measures like reducing car use and raising the speed limit in urban areas to 30 kilometers per hour, won't win votes. At least in the short term, because in the long run, the change, if it truly brings benefits, will also translate into support for those who spearheaded it.
Change does not, in and of itself, represent a certainty of moving forward, of improving. It can also cause us to take steps backward. Two examples that are commonplace for everyone. Sustainability, detached from the goal of reducing inequalities, risks increasing fractures, injustices, anger and less protected citizens, nationalist closures, and wars. And this is precisely what is happening as a result of the spread of of false sustainability.