Issue Parallel worlds and the erosion of national solidarity

Summary

The report does not rule out that, if today's trends of bubble formation and distrust continue, society could eventually drift further apart. Population groups divided by education, origin or ideology could end up in parallel worlds, each with its own schools, media and truths and with no contact between them. In that case the national solidarity needed to share the costs of an ageing population and climate change could evaporate. The report warns that this would endanger the country's governability during crises. As background, it points to weakening cohesion, in which empathy for unfamiliar groups declines and reactions to others grow harsher.