Post COVID-19

A reader recently commented that my article on the impact of COVID-19 was in error – that COVID-19 is an evil from which no good can emanate.

I often say that what matters is not what happens, but your reaction to what happens.

In the case of COVID-19, we have to accept that tens of millions affected, well over a million deaths, and whole economies emasculated, affect us all terribly. 

But, unfortunately, other than the mitigation efforts underway everywhere and despite the good news on vaccines, we cannot do anything about what has already happened.

We can only deal with the future, and that is very much in our hands.

Many of us have learned that working from home can be productive for companies and many of their employees as they avoid long commutes, and the expenses incurred, and the pollution produced during morning and evening commutes.

Many of us have learned to attend courses from home, allowing universities to reduce building and maintenance costs which can lead to lowering the overall to students and their parents who incur debt after graduation which limits the ability of graduates to easily pursue similar lifestyles to what they saw their parents enjoy.

Some global leaders are saying that the answer to the pandemic is not to return to the past but, rather, to create new economies based on renewable energy and the “clean” jobs that rapidly evolving technologies can facilitate. 

Leaders like Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau see a future not bound by fossil fuels (although they will continue to play a role in the near future) but, rather, an economy fueled by renewable and non-polluting resources.

Indeed, many companies are ahead of them.

Automobile producers are already preparing their assembly lines to produce only electric or hybrid vehicles in the very near future. Municipal governments are investing in mass transit based on hydrogen or electrical propulsion while consumers are starting to make better choices by buying into this new vision and demanding cleaner air and water. 

Markets are also betting on new technology to create new sources of energy. Tesla and a number of new electrical vehicle (EV) startups have catapulted in value as investors believe in the promise of these new battery, solar and hydrogen fuel cell-based technologies. 

So, can some good come out of an international tragedy?

I would remind readers that the bubonic plague of the fifteenth century brought down the feudal system by destroying the rural economy -- a major factor that led eventually to the Renaissance and the Age of Reason with the main benefit being the development and adoption of the scientific method. 

This pandemic is taking place alongside a transcendent technological revolution that can and is changing human behavior across a broad spectrum of activities thereby setting the stage for a new social and economic age.

There is no doubt that COVID-19 is a tragedy of enormous proportions. Anyone who has suffered contagion or has had a loved one die from the disease will find it difficult to believe that some good can come of this pandemic.

But if one takes into account the speed with which a number of vaccines have been developed (all in less than a year), it could well be that the international cooperation in vaccine development will save thousands or millions of lives the next time a pandemic strikes.

Although multilateral institutions have proven inept in dealing with this outbreak, perhaps governments will accept the need to make our international institutions more fit for purpose so that they can meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Finally, if governments begin to focus on sustainable development that allows us all to advance economically and technologically while eliminating a deleterious impact on the environment, we shall have achieved a major gain for all.

Edición: Laura Espejo