[The Guardian] Coronavirus is a tragedy – but it could be the wake-up call we need

Coronavirus is a tragedy – but it could be the wake-up call we need

Global growth was already slowing but not enough to save the Earth from disaster. Hopefully we will be shocked out of our complacency

For some time this pandemic will focus almost all of our attention. It is a tragedy that will play out differently in different parts of the world; the poor world will suffer more than the rich one. We will see it as a potential turning point, a portent, a sign that we should have cared more and prepared better. However, human progress was slowing before this pandemic began, and our world will continue to slow down for some time to come – long after the pandemic has ended. I mean slowing down in almost every way that matters. Because the slowdown was itself slow, we had hardly noticed it. In fact, many people thought that we were still accelerating.

For older generations everything had changed so fast, but in fact that fast pace ended years ago. There is no normal for us to return to; the normality of economic growth is an illusion.

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Source: Coronavirus is a tragedy – but it could be the wake-up call we need

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