A New World

 

We are currently going through a crisis which is described by some as a “black swan event”: an unexpected, uncommon and widereaching situation that has severe consequences, usually accompanied by claims that they should have been anticipated.

Other examples of “black swan events” are the stock market crash of 1929 which resulted in a global economic depression; the full extent of World War II; the terror attacks of September 11, 2001; and the economic crash of 2008.

All of these events had severe consequences, and significant responses. Some were positive: the New Deal in the US in the depression of the 1930s, or the rise of the welfare system in much of Europe after World War II.

Other consequences were decidedly destructive. These include the march of totalitarianism, especially fascism, in Europe during the depression; the enslavement of Eastern Europe under Soviet rule after World War II; global paranoia and the destablisation of the Middle East after 9/11; the trap of austerity measures and the increasing wealth gap after the crash of 2008.

The crash of 2008 especially presented an opportunity for a recalibration of the economic system, from neoliberal capitalism and its fraudulent claims of the trickle-down economy towards one that closes the wealth gap and takes care of its poor

The crash of 2008 especially presented an opportunity for a recalibration of the economic system, from neoliberal capitalism and its fraudulent claims of the trickle-down economy towards one that closes the wealth gap and takes care of its poor, along the lines of what the Catholic Church under Pope Benedict XVI proposed at the time.

History records that in neoliberal systems, the poor and the middle-classes were made to subsidise the rich — and make them even richer — through the imposition of austerity measures. If anything, neoliberal capitalism has become even more rampant in the decade that followed, with selfishness and greed the prevailing norm.  In the United States, it has been seriously argued, and expressed in the administration’s policies, that it is better to let people die from Covid-19 than have restrictive measures affect the economy.

In the United States, it has been seriously argued, and expressed in the administration’s policies, that it is better to let people die from Covid-19 than have restrictive measures affect the economy.

As pro-life people, Catholics must be shocked at such callousness, born of worship of money. The world will now have an opportunity to reshape its political, economic and social order.

To use the term which soon will be a cliché, there will be a new normal, and with it a chance to dump the “old normal”. We must work towards a new normal where care for the weakest in society, not its wealthiest, is a principal priority, as it is in many countries in the current crisis.

We must work towards a new normal where the economic system acts with ethics and compassion. We must work towards a society that, as Pope Francis puts it, compels people to prepare for a “collective future” which sees the whole human family as one and holds all of the earth’s gifts in common in order to be shared justly with those in need.

There is a blueprint in place for such a society: the Catholic Social Teachings, which emphasise human dignity and the common good in society.

After Covid-19, business cannot continue as usual. Solidarity across class, political, demographic and national lines is the only antidote to a future dominated by greed and violent reaction to it.

In many regions there will be a taste of violent reaction to poverty. South Africa and other countries must prepare for social unrest — and in light of the economic consequences of the coronavirus, the social instability could spread beyond the poorest of our society.

South Africa and other countries must prepare for social unrest — and in light of the economic consequences of the coronavirus, the social instability could spread beyond the poorest of our society.

We must also beware of the flipside to our aspirations for a fairer society. While many in South Africa’s government have genuinely sought to work towards the common good, there are some who seem to unduly enjoy the powers invested in them during this state of disaster. We must beware of politicians who might use social unrest as a pretext for imposing curfews and crackdowns, and thus undermine our civil rights.

We must beware of politicians who might use social unrest as a pretext for imposing curfews and crackdowns, and thus undermine our civil rights.

Indeed, people in democracies across the world must be alert to the fact that the successful experiment of restrictions of free movement and lockdowns—which in the case of a pandemic are justifiable — might give some politicians bad ideas.

Undue restrictions will have to be strongly resisted. The post-coronavirus society presents us with both opportunity and menace. We must not be idle in reshaping our world for the better.