Stop growing or meet the four horsemen? | A Prosperous Way Down
An interesting piece on the enabling of pandemic by our economic system :
Economic growth or public health? In our globally connected society, we are all just one direct flight away from a potential pandemic if we subvert public health mandates for economic growth. The coincidental African economic summit held this week in Washington DC is a snapshot of this problem—economic growth is the focus, and serious public health concerns are something to be discussed quietly in back rooms outside of media coverage, rather than prominently on the agenda. I can only imagine the quiet discussions, focused on the economic impact of curtailed air or other travel to countries.
If we shut down all travel, what would a shutdown to many African countries do to our global supply chain? What would a pandemic panic do to economic growth, unstable currencies, and stock markets? In a world where there’s only a 3 day supply of food on the shelves, even in prosperous countries, how can we possibly close borders, except with martial law? We’re all connected, and running at top efficiency with little resiliency in the system. What happens when the universal systemic mandate for economic growth conflicts directly with the general public health of a society? Which is worse, letting Nature have her way with us, or intentionally sticking a spoke in the wheel of our economic machine and bringing it to a sudden halt? What about the oil? Nigeria supplies critical oil and LNG to many countries, especially Europe, which is the largest regional importer of Nigerian oil. And so on.