G. Lemaître, a Belgian priest and cosmologist, formulated in the 1930s the big bang hypothesis, according to which the Creation of the world was punctual and instantaneous. In the discussion that followed his proposal it was said that if the world had its beginning in that great explosion, a background radiation should have remained as a trace. Indeed, this microwave radiation was discovered in 1965, and today the big bang hypothesis is generally accepted.

I have been observing the European social reality for some time now and I notice an underlying malaise, similar to Lemâitre's radiation. I suppose that this uneasiness can be attributed to the awareness of the European decline since the Second World War, perceptible in almost every aspect: demographic, political, economic, scientific and technological, military. We are an increasingly secondary actor, condemned to a growing irrelevance.

Globalization makes things even worse. Despite our secular cosmopolitan vocation, we feel insecure in a large and complex world in which it is difficult to find one's way around. As a reaction, nationalism and xenophobia in politics and protectionism in Economics are on the rise. The traditional political class seems to be overwhelmed, has distanced itself from the citizenry and does not give the impression of being up to the task, which favors populism. The yearning for security and stability is growing; Angela Merkel's triumph and prestige, in Germany and abroad, reflect this mood. Opportunism and the defense of the status quo as a program were enough for her to triumph in the last German elections.

What could be the root, the big bang manager of this malaise that is in the environment? It is not certain that an ultimate cause can be identified. In complex social phenomena it is essential to take into account a plurality of causes or factors. Hence sociologists prefer to speak of the correlation of variables rather than of linear connections between causes and effects.

It is impossible to establish a rigorous diagnosis in a few lines, but I dare to formulate a hypothesis: the deep root of the demoralization we suffer lies in the contempt for human life, manifested in practices such as abortion or euthanasia. If a society considers it tolerable, indeed, takes for granted that we can eliminate the embryo in the womb or kill the already born child whose life does not meet the desirable quality - I was going to write "adult", but in Holland and Belgium child euthanasia is already permitted -, the other infractions will end up seeming to us as trifles, unimportant deviations. Evading taxes, paying or collecting commissions, prevaricating, lying -to the electorate, to shareholders, to one's spouse, to clients or suppliers, to audiences-, stealing: those who accept major crimes as normal will not even notice the seriousness of minor offenses.

Tens of millions of abortions have been performed in Europe in recent decades. If, in addition to the mothers, we take into account the fathers and other relatives and friends involved, there are many millions of people whose hands are stained with blood. We have here a pocket of suffering of great dimensions, which our societies scarcely discuss: it is not good style to talk about this disturbing reality. An information blackout has been decreed on everything that surrounds the internship abortion, and whoever breaks this unwritten law appears as an enemy of social peace, as someone who jeopardizes a precious consensus.

The project reform of the abortion law, recently announced by the Government, will allow us to discuss central aspects of the human and social condition, and this seems to me to be very positive (provided, of course, that we are able to dialogue with a minimum of serenity, something that is not proving easy so far). Fortunately, there is more to public life than Economics.