Painful transition to a new order that does not yet exist

I have said for some time that we have entered an age of confusion and also an age of nihilism, in which everything we were once used to and everything we once took for granted has been transformed.

Particularly in the West, political systems seem to be breaking apart at the seams, no longer offering the people the answers they need. One need only look at the record low figures of trust that citizens place in their governments to understand that new modes of thought and expression have become necessary and are indeed already developing outside of the usual institutions. We are seeing the old world disintegrate in front of us, with old ideologies becoming meaningless.

To many, this looks like nihilism meeting helter-skelter. What we are really seeing, I believe, is a painful transition to a new order that does not yet exist, but that will better answer people’s needs and expectations in this modern era.

We like to summarize the history of humanity through a succession of ages, from the Stone Age and Bronze Age to the Renaissance and the Industrial Age. The age we are moving into has clearly been greatly influenced by technology, providing immediate access to information and instant communication with every human being on Earth, while transforming almost every aspect of our lives and, increasingly, the functioning of governments, finance and even militaries.

We are seeing the old world disintegrate in front of us, with old ideologies becoming meaningless

Hassan bin Youssef Yassin

This has created upheavals throughout the world, putting us all on a different timeline to what we are used to. As a result, we as people, but also governments, must adapt to be nimbler, to respond and to adjust more rapidly. When we do not adapt quickly enough, we need a jolt, a stimulus to make us conscious of what is changing around us and that we need to catch up to.

We clearly need a jolt to shake us up and find ways to better deal with the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine, as well as the societal upheaval around the globe. The reelection of Donald Trump is one of those jolts, shaking us up and reminding us that the old model is no longer working or adapted to the needs of the people.

An older lady interviewed on television left a big impression on me the other day. She was a lifelong Democrat and liberal who told the interviewer she had voted for Trump. When asked why, she responded simply that he talks the same way she does. Most politicians today are viewed as being particularly disconnected from the real world and from real people’s lives, so immersed in the political games they play that they no longer realize what world they are a part of. While many thought Trump’s reelection impossible, his rejection of the old elites and the old order made him impossible to ignore.

There remain a great many people who cannot identify with someone like Trump. Through the ages of great thinkers and philosophers, from Aristotle to Al-Mutanabbi to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, we have received a great deal of wisdom and leaders able to help their people move forward. Today, however, we are not in an age of construction but rather one of deconstruction, which must necessarily come first.

When we do not adapt quickly enough, we need a jolt to make us conscious of what is changing around us

Hassan bin Youssef Yassin

At such a time, perhaps we do need someone who can cut corners and make deals, to get us through this difficult phase faster. When I look at the incredible transformation of Saudi Arabia over recent years, I believe it was our leaders’ ability to stop listening to old ideas and old habits, their ability to look at problems more practically, that made all the difference. We should not allow ourselves to be mental prisoners of old systems or of the wishes of narrow interest groups. We need to break through the ceiling to get some open air and light.

It is understandable for us to be fearful when seeing the institutions we had established collectively, such as the UN and its Security Council, lose their purpose and relevance, much like many other political institutions of the West. But instead of mourning a world that no longer exists, perhaps we had better try to understand the changes underway today and find new answers and solutions to find what actually works.

That is how we move past the nihilism meets helter-skelter that many are feeling today. I will leave the final words to Desmond Tutu, who wisely reminded us that “hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

• Hassan bin Youssef Yassin worked closely with Saudi petroleum ministers Abdullah Tariki and Ahmed Zaki Yamani from 1959 to 1967. He headed the Saudi Information Office in Washington from 1972 to 1981 and served with the Arab League observer delegation to the UN from 1981 to 1983.