The Great Societal Rewind

I remember the early days of the lockdown when there was a sense that maybe we would emerge out of this as better people, living in a better society. Three months into the start of the pandemic in the West, these thoughts sound so naive.

Let’s be factual. Consider two of the major problems that our society was experiencing pre-COVID: environmental damage and income inequality. The longer it takes to eradicate the virus, the more dramatic and irreversible the acceleration of those two pillars of our society’s decay.

Environment, first. Remember, in the eighteen months before COVID we were witnessing encouraging, albeit tentative, developments. There was a choral movement of citizen awareness, developing regulation, and, finally, real initiatives from corporations.

Recess is over (sound of a bell).

Understandably, the primary concern of people, right now, is protecting themselves and their beloved from contagion. Add to this, households’ financial stability has suddenly and dramatically worsened, due to the jump in unemployment levels. The environment has lost many positions in the ranking of preoccupations. Even worse. In the memory of most, the clear skies we are enjoying in typically hazy cities will link to the tremendous social and economic distress the lockdowns have caused. Climate change sceptics will quickly…