ABSTRACT
In the Middle East and Northern Africa, or MENA region, ethical issues related to economic development came to light during the social movements that erupted in the region since 2011 (Arab Spring), especially in labor-intensive and resource-poor countries. Although national mechanisms led to this crisis, the claims, on an equal footing, for political transparency and socio-economic inclusion have demonstrated that the political and economic balance which had prevailed for decades, often at the cost of a systematic repression of discontent, had suddenly crumbled at the end of the 2000s. This chapter points to various ethical issues – socio-economic inequality, authoritarian-redistributive social contracts, and the obstacles to political transformation raised by decades of socio-economic transformation in the MENA region – that could explain the brutal breakdown of the formerly stable social contracts. A simple ethical criterion, the capacity of the system to provide real socio-economic opportunities – corresponding to all levels of qualifications, personal aspirations, and projects – to a broad range of the population is used to motivate our interpretation of the long-term economic and political trends shared by various countries in the region.
