Post-Pandemic, Governments May Rethink Everything
New demands for resilience could reshape economies, social contracts — even what it means to live in a decent society.
What now?
Photographer: Johannes Eisele/AFPAs the coronavirus pandemic continues, Bloomberg Opinion will be running features that consider the long-term consequences of the crisis. This column is part of a package on politics and government. For more, see Jonathan Bernstein on whether the U.S. government can survive the next disaster, Andreas Kluth on the future of the European Union and Mihir Sharma on the global failure to protect migrant workers.
The human and economic costs of the Covid-19 crisis are already enormous, and the final tally will be colossal. What’s happening will undoubtedly focus minds, so next time will be different. One consequence is that in the near future, people will almost certainly expect and insist on greater “resilience” in the event of another crisis.