In the post-pandemic world, let’s be realistic… and demand the impossible

The idea of treating the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity for a reset, to make a whole new start, makes more and more sense. Never in human history have we seen the world grind to a virtual halt, with a third of the global population in lockdown; not even during the two world wars, nor in previous pandemics: never has the world been so connected, and consequently, never has there been so much awareness of the possibilities of joint action.

The possibilities have been made all too clear: action has indeed been joint, but not coordinated. Between January and March 2020, individual countries were pathetically repeating the mistakes of those previously affected, learning practically nothing at all from others’ experience. This has cost many more deaths and suffering and highlights a fundamental issue: in a connected world, the model of independently administered territorial units on the basis of national sovereignty no longer makes sense. Just think what we could have achieved with a single, efficient and coordinated administration?

The same principle can be applied to economic crisis we will face as we emerge from lockdown. The pandemic has highlighted many of the problems of today’s world, which make human civilization unsustainable: firstly, because the infection is the result of having vastly overexploited ecosystems. COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease, the result of contact with animals as we increasingly encroach on their ecosystems, as well as the trade in wild animals, both internationally and in wet markets. To make matters worse, the disease hits people who are exposed to high levels of pollution hardest: if this doesn’t make us sit up and take notice, nothing will. Nature could speak more loudly to us, but not more clearly.

If humanity wants a future, we must first of all meet the challenge of coordination. Acting as independent tribes may have made sense centuries ago. But today, in a hyper-connected world, what make sense is acting in a coordinated manner. What will happen, for example, if a COVID-19 vaccine is discovered in a US laboratory? What price would they put on it? Would they license its manufacture everywhere, or would they try to jealously guard their patents and manufacture exclusively? Would Donald Trump allow it to be exported, or would it be America First, with the rest of the planet having to wait its turn.

We need scientific coordination: over the years, it’s been shown that the most efficient mechanism for innovation is not competition, but cooperation and open sourcing. Where’s the sense in hundreds of teams around the world each looking for a vaccine independently, without sharing their findings? Shouldn’t there be a mechanism for scientists to share their findings so we can progress more quickly?

Science is a strategic asset for humanity as a whole, so why not use this reset to realize what we are capable of doing to solve a problem like a pandemic? Why not consider rebuilding our economies with sustainability in mind? Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez has wisely commissioned Teresa Ribera, the Minister for Ecological Transition and Fourth Vice-President of the Government, to pilot such a transition, but to what extent will she have her hands free to implement real change? If just a single month of lockdown has shown us how much pollution is produced by motor vehicles, then surely we can see that the internal combustion engine has to be withdrawn now. Meanwhile, some car manufacturers are asking a moratorium so that they can continue to pollute.

The coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented tragedy, but the reset it offers is also unparalleled. Having survived a pandemic and lockdown, we now know what we should be asking for. To paraphrase the demands of the students in Paris in May 1968: let’s be realistic and demand the impossible.

(En espa?ol, aquí)

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