Post Covid-19: how the world should be changed?
The year 2020 has been the most difficult one for the present generation. Who can forget the dark clouds of fear hovering all around? People lost their jobs. Millions of others suffer from a deadly infection. Hundreds of businesses underwent a downturn.
I composed a couple of poems to motivate people that they take precautionary measures and help others in need. In those pieces, I indicated the dawn of a new era and a new world order. Thus, I asked for intense cooperation in the global arena. Many theorists like Martin Wolf, who writes for the Financial Times, feared the likely isolationism and protectionist patterns of nations after covid-19. However, I am of the view that post-covid-19 will be an era of more and more interdependence. How should the world get changed for betterment? And how has the security of one entity linked to others? Let’s delve into the subject matter of it.
Those who gestured the beginning of deglobalization inferred from the trends of Brexit, rise in racism, and the emergence of populist leaders. While making inferences, the followers of mechanical perspective in theories usually see the continuity of a particular phenomenon based on causal relations. However, we cannot roll out the humanistic perspective that entails social and global value-premises. Things can go either way as the variables get a slight shift. So, human beings can importantly feel to discontinue any pattern of behaviour which happens to be untoward. And hopefully, it will be so in this case as well.
Takeaways from the COVID-19 to change the world
It has become conspicuous that the safety of one person is to the protection of others. I am safe only when people in my vicinity are safe. Similar is the case of a nation.
Mark Bevir says dilemmas or tragedies have the power to change the course of an individual life, so do the collective tragedies, be it domestic or international. It is high time for the world community to think over the imbalance in systems.
Covid-19 has uncovered many vulnerabilities: health care systems of nations, supply chains, and the economic divide within geographical boundaries, and at the global level.
It has proven that a massive pile of weapons cannot save a country if her health care and other infrastructures, which ensure human capital, are not sturdy. Instead of the arms race, it is requisite to build cooperation for survival on Earth. Channelizing resources is the ultimate thing in this regard. There will be more challenges of existential nature in the 21st century. How good it would be if the unfortunate tragedy of Covid-19 may change the direction of global and domestic politics!
The world needs to reset priorities.
We can transform any problem into an opportunity. Covid-19 signals toward countries to make them shift their priorities.
Climate change and the possibility of more pandemics
Climate change will be a hotspot for the global community. Diseases of the Tropic region (23 N, 23 S) may spread to the Temperate region of the Earth in the future. It is due to the changes in weather patterns. Dengue is an example of it, which was a disease of Africa, warm areas. Now it has spread to the rest of the regions.
We have had many efforts on the effect of climate change. These include Rio-d Janeiro 1992, Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, Paris Deal, yet the targets are far from being achieved. The emergence of demagogue at the political horizon of the globe led the world astray. Thus, no tangible output gets witnessed to undo such a trend. Therefore, endeavours containing mechanisms and penalties for compliance with the treaties are required.
Pandemic and economic divide
It is no secret that there exist striking economic inequalities. The Statista puts forth that the wealth of the 1 % richest in the world constitutes 51% of the total. It goes like 10% holds 38%, and the remaining 89% gets just 11%.
Pandemic has fuelled the divide further. Poor-working class remained more vulnerable to crises.
Many reports have suggested that the poor are more prone to hazards of health. Imagine, if a pandemic like covid-19 breaks out in slums, will the elite in society be safe? Survival is a matter of probability. Thus, the right approach is to have inclusive systems.
Covid-19 and the technological or digital divide
One glaring thing came to the surface yet again. Technology has become necessary for social development in the modern era. Domestically, the affluents of the society remained advantageous, but the poor fell behind. Poor children endured accumulated learning-loss. Small vendors saw that their living was about to dwindle as they could not manage resources for doing business online.
The statement issued by the UN highlighted the significance of the universal access to technology that has augmented a fundamental value for the attainment of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).
Making WHO more functional as a body
World Health Organization must be more functional as a body than before. There must be a global setup for researchers to collaborate across the globe. The developing countries which are lagging in science and technology must be assisted at least in biological research. Since the world functions in a web-like fashion, an outbreak in any less developed country will danger the world.
Restructuring or reassessing the global institutions
To solve the issues at the global level, an active role of supra-national institutions will be significant. Having a problem-solving approach will pay off. Future challenges are askance for a model wherein developed countries may lend concessional support to the developing countries. In this way, the latter can induce robustness in their institutions. A high level of cooperation in the global arena can get reached when there would exist the symmetry of power, thriving on the conflict-resolution apparatus. The Global financial institutions should also get revamped structurally, as mentioned by Jean Saldanha.
Diplomacy between an existing superpower and rising-super power instead of a new cold war
In international relations, the Thucydides Trap often gets discussed. It applies that conflict between an existing-super power and a rising- power is unavoidable. This perspective again comes through a mechanical understanding of events. I remembered the comparison of two powerful nations, which compete, by Paul Kennedy (Book: The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers). I also got a glimpse of the idea of establishment of hegemony, presented by J. J Mearsheimer (Book: Tragedy of Great Power Politics). I would put forth a reference from the work of Graham Allison (Book: Destined For War: Can America and China Escape The Thucydides Trape). It leaves a deduction for us. It goes that they should develop a diplomatic course to solve conflicts. It is better to find out an amicable way instead of hostilities. Their diplomatic genuineness will be in the interest of all nations.
Infrastructure, including the health care system
Countries should have learned that dealing with such an emergency in the future requires institution-building and preparedness. Readiness is a hallmark to avert damage in crises. Leadership plays here a pivotal role.
Post-covid-19 Economic downturn
It will be a difficult time for developing countries for many reasons: global trade has slowed down; domestic businesses are showing lesser growth, and overall confidence of investors has been decreased owing to an uncertain environment. Meanwhile, the buying power of middle-class families has got crippled. In such a situation, governments can only go for Keynesian economics of deficit spending or easing monetary policy. These are not just risk-free scenarios; both lead to disturbance in macroeconomic indicators in one way or the other.
Unstable situation in developing countries would lead to a global recession. Here comes the role of the Global institutions and multilateralism.
New ways of doing business and changing labour model, post-Covid-19
In developing countries, many businesses had been unwilling to adopt new ways of doing business. Thus, the rate of adaptation of technology had been low. Nonetheless, lock-downs have made traditional business-men explore new venues. After Covid-19, digitization gets accelerated. The labour will need to acquire a skill-set for future adaptability. If, for instance, anyone working in a particular industry gets fired off, he should have the skills to work somewhere else. Developing countries should be focusing on training their labour force accordingly.
To conclude,
I would recount a verse of one of my poems that pandemic is a test of all values. Emile Durkheim has had the viewpoint that unusual happenings, where bring about new things to the surface, also strengthen the belief in efficacious frameworks. Hope so, the global community will iron out the possibilities to deal with the challenges of existential nature in a harmonious manner.
