The economic cost of historical distrust in Spain

A photo reignites the clash between liberalism and statism

The image circulating on social media is not innocent. It shows two people labelled "incivil" and triggers reactions ranging from authoritarian nostalgia to liberal scepticism. "100 years ago it cost us 12,000 dead to trust these people," reads one of the comments, alluding to a past of wars and crises. The reference to El Pardo, the residence of the Head of State, suggests the photo is aimed at the monarchy or the political class.

Liberalism and capitalism, the automatic response

Faced with the image, a current of analysis responds with sweeping labels: "Liberalism and capitalism". It is no coincidence. The photo is interpreted as a symbol of the failure of the current economic model or, on the contrary, as an attack on freedoms. The comment about the Red Cross girl — in its "lgtb" version — adds a layer of satire that many see as a reflection of a society that has lost its sense of identity.

The cost of not trusting

"We are governed by our worst enemies" is not just an opinion: in economics, institutional distrust has a measurable price. Risk premium, capital flight, stalled investment. The 12,000 dead from a century ago mentioned here are not an exact figure for today's debate, but the emotional calculation weighs heavily. Those who suggest that "the USA would have fired a few shots by now" express a desire for hard interventionism that contrasts with the idea of liberalism defended by others.

In short, the photo tells us nothing new: it simply condenses the rift between two ways of understanding power and the market. And the cost of not resolving that rift remains, as always, unpredictable.