COVID 19 – The End of Globalisation?

For many years we thought that with globalisation comes all evil. Initially we were against it by our default settings that render us skeptical and hesitant to any kind of change, then we displayed resistance as a matter of social and political reflex, and only later-on we opened-up to the arguments put forward by both sides of the spectrum before eventually accepting this new reality that came-in uninvited. Supporters saw a borderless world that could benefit everyone, oppositionists saw the surrender to a global government that would have to eventually be installed to rule this new global entity. But before we were even able to formulate any educated opinion about this new reality, we were bombarded with a number of legislations enhancing the notion of globalisation and with advertisements portraying globalisation as the new standard of personal liberty. Unrestricted freedom of movement for both, goods and services which made everyone’s personal world open-up to a much wider audience, and suddenly we felt that our insignificance was cast away, as we became part of something so much bigger than just ourselves. Restrictions were lifted, travelling became easier and as a result the cosmos smaller and within reach. Shortly after, we connected our lives, our economies, our lifestyles, and everything was aligned to the same newly discovered star-sign called globalisation. This was the year 1990. For the next thirty some years the entire world kept shrinking in size day-after-day and we all became one melting pot that was streamlined to believe that we actually all came from the same mold. And the truth is that it did feel ok for quite some time. And then came August 6, 1991. The day the internet became available to the public and became the enabler of countless new possibilities and the maker of the digital era. The day that changed the world as we knew it and created a new world with a completely new format. The day where the physical and the virtual converged into the new combined reality. A world so fast in evolution that only champions could keep up. Where the few became the new intellectual and financial elite and the many challenged with maintaining their social relevance. And a world that started producing new champions every day for the next decade. New sciences emerged and with them new types of humans. Possibly the first Superhumans. Humans with brains calibrated differently to adhere to a new logic, to new designs and new ideas that all together conveyed the impression of the creation of a whole new species. We embraced these changes with almost no reservation and the digital extension of the world became our second skin. We learned to live and enjoy its perks to the extent that has become almost an addiction. We started roaming the planet and making every destination our new home. We ended-up having multiple homes. The home of our heart vs. the home of our cultural quests vs. the home of our sports preferences vs. our physical home. The seemingly impossible became easy and possible. Day-dreaming was peaking. Flying became almost as cheap as a taking the bus, in fact, planes became the new buses. We nurtured our aspirations of cosmopolitism when planning the occasional weekend shopping sprees with friends to London, Milan or Paris. These were the times when the world was not enough. In other words, globalisation at its best.

At the dawn of this new decade, in January 2, 2020, all of this ended abruptly. The beginning of the end. Globalisation was examined from a reverse-engineering point of view and was tested to its bones. The world started losing the medical grip on the spread of an allegedly bat originating virus that somehow entered the human body after consumption of the bird in China. The contagion of the virus happened at light-speed and soon after cases of infection manifested in all possible parts of the world causing initially concern that swiftly turned into panic and mass hysteria. Governments started accusing one another for the spread of this pandemic that converted some of the countries affected into living hells arguing biological warfare. The reaction to the phenomenon as diverse as the forms of the virus itself. Very little is known about this virus and even the initial conclusions that it would primarily hit the elderly with a terminal effect was overturned by succeeding realities on the ground. Initially, the virus would cause lung failure, meanwhile scientists and doctors alike, claim that other vital organs of the human body such as the heart and liver could also get attacked. The next in a series of challenges associated with the virus was the inability of health systems to address the pandemic efficiently. With cases of infections mounting on a daily basis fatalities also rose. In an initial effort to calm down the public opinion, comparisons to the simple flu were drawn to showcase that the flu was still far more life threatening than Covid-19. This argument would soon enough also succumb to reality as the number of dead corpses skyrocketed. In an almost enigmatic way some countries are more affected than others. Some less serious countries advertised that their people are immune to the virus due to some enzymes produced by the nation’s DNA. Others just chose to display complete disregard to all threats posed by the virus and encouraged people to continue their lives on a “business as usual” basis. They gave this approach the fancy title “the immune herd”, which departed from the notion that probably the entire population will at some point be infected, but not all of the population will die. Governments were ok with the idea that a rather significant number of their citizens would depart from this world but chose to give priority to saving their economies over saving the lives of their citizens. The approach was apparently the result of some type of scientific analysis, which turned out to be based on rather wrong assumptions. Oddly enough, their Heads of States were also infected by the virus. Would be interesting to see whether they still abide by the original concept. And then there is the other group of countries that seemingly chose to give priority to human life over their economies. These countries opted for the partial or complete lockdown of their public domains with a calculated toll on their economies. It is hard to say, which of the two approaches is more lifesaving and which more economy-saving as one of the most critical variables of the exercise is still unknown. That being the variable of time.

Be that how it may, however, what is more interesting is the aftermath of both approaches. Countries returning back to isolation, communication between them limited to non-physical only and the intra-state business at an aggressive halt. The only commodities in demand are sanitizers, masks and silicone gloves. No more cars, no more TVs and no more PS4s. In some cases, the delivery of those commodities is high-jacked at different unrelated airports and is confiscated in the name of public interest. We observe some type of insanity kicking-in. But it is not only the international community that is being teared apart, so are families. The social fabric that composes the whole of our being. This sneaky virus is dictating that the best way to protect your loved ones is to stay as far away from them as you can. If that is not satanic then I don’t know what is. Now, if we were to enter the realms of conspiracy theories some of what we see makes sense. Just imagine the same pandemic without the internet. It would probably not have the same scare effect as information would not travel as fast. People confined in the space of their apartments almost as voluntary prisoners. No more travelling possible, no more day-dreaming other than nightmares of a never-ending confinement and certainly these shopping sprees seem to be a thing of the past, never to return. On a related note, no more going to work, now it’s working online from home. And we know what that means. The complete elimination of working hours. Benefits? Pursuing the same scare-tactic, people now fear about their jobs. Being bombarded with the news of new deaths and of an ever-struggling economy from morning to evening and from evening to morning how much longer do you think before we surrender completely to any new regime that will promise us our health and a little bit of money in exchange of some hardly acquired rights that have cost the blood of mankind before they became an entitlement? In other words, our entire existence in exchange for a pottage of lentils.