A new better world: why does humanity need crises, and what awaits us after the pandemic - ForumDaily
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A new, better world: why mankind needs crises, and what awaits us after the pandemic

What will happen when the coronavirus infection pandemic ends? Historian and writer Rutger Bregman believes: a new era will come, and the world will change for the better, writes Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

The epidemic of the plague in the XIV century killed almost half of the population of Europe, the Spanish flu in the early twentieth century - almost 50 million people. These crises have contributed to the development of medicine and the creation of public health systems.

Is a new better world possible on the ruins of a pandemic?

The coronavirus disease pandemic is not the first crisis that humanity is experiencing. What have we learned about ourselves over these few months?

“People are mostly decent,” says Rutger Bregman. “Especially in the midst of a pandemic, people, at least many, showed only the best in themselves. We saw both altruism and the desire of people to work together. This is the most important lesson. And for every person buying huge quantities of toilet paper, there were a thousand nurses doing everything they could to save as many lives as possible.”

On the subject: Cholera, smallpox, 'spanish': the most terrible pandemics in human history

In the 60th century, the Black Death claimed the lives of almost XNUMX% of Europe's population. Some historians believe that the lack of labor following the plague led to the fall of the feudal system.

At the beginning of the 50th century, the Spanish flu claimed the lives of almost XNUMX million people in Europe. She helped understand the nature of the virus and taught how to fight it. It also pushed some countries to create a system of public health care.

After World War II, institutions began to appear, the purpose of which was to prevent future wars.

What is wrong in modern society?

“If you look at the last forty years, at the model of neoliberal capitalism, we see that it is built on the fact that man is by nature selfish,” Bregman says. — All public institutions are built around this. And the results were so-so. We see loneliness, anxiety, burnout. And all this does not help us cope with the pandemic.”

What will be next?

“I hope (and this is only a hope, not a prediction) that we can enter a new era where there will be different values ​​and a realistic view of human nature,” says the historian. “We will rely more on people working together and coming together.” Often new ideas are rejected, considered unrealistic and meaningless, but over time they can go from being ideas on paper to becoming mainstream. And this has been happening since the 2008 financial crisis. Today we are discussing the possibility of introducing a basic income, higher taxes for rich, strong states that will invest in the future. All this is becoming mainstream."

On the subject: Spanish Flu, HIV, Ebola: How US Presidents Fighted Epidemics

Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian and writer. His book “Utopia for Realists” has been translated into 30 languages. He considers kindness to be a new value for humanity and is confident that soon we will all face a serious change in the world order.

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