HUMANS evolved to be suspicious of strangers, and for good reasons. Strangers were/are potential invaders. They may also be saboteurs or spies for the enemy. In turbulent times, they may spread certain ideas that could destabilize their host society. And in many cases, they also brought with them, plagues from foreign lands.
The last part is particularly salient considering our present condition. As of the writing of this article, multiple countries have suspended travel to and from the People’s Republic of China due to the ongoing Corona Virus pandemic. Everybody’s probably tired of me writing about the disease, but I promise this isn’t about the Corona problem.
Instead, I’m going to write about the global system and its vulnerability and weaknesses. Some people think that the global system and its institutions are relatively strong, while others think that it is very fragile. I belong to the latter category. I believe that human civilizations are fundamentally fragile things, particularly ours, and all it takes to tear them down are the right set of pressures.
Enter the Corona virus. This little virus is still spreading but it has caused sufficient infections to prompt multiple countries to shut down their borders, and in a globalized world, closed borders is considered a great evil.
When a country decides to close itself off – for whatever reason – not only is it undermining global trade and travel, it is also a symbol of something primal in humans: The desire to keep out diseased foreigners. Such actions are atavistic; a return to historical averages and the elimination of the modern. Gone are openness and globalization; say hello to tribalism and nationalism.
Now, whether or not Corona will become like the Spanish Flu is irrelevant. It’s still climbing, and at this point, it could go either way. What’s important is what pandemics like these can do to the global system, including global trade and travel. Imagine if Filipino OFWs will no longer be allowed to travel abroad because of a plague, or the disruption of oil and energy shipments because of a pandemic.
Today, the source of disruption is disease. Next time the stress may result from conflict, natural disasters, famines, demographic stress or a dozen other factors. Global leaders have a lot of faith in global institutions and technology, but such faith is – in my opinion – foolish and misguided. The global system exists because certain conditions allow it to exist. Remove those conditions or disrupt them by very real threats, and we revert back to ancient ways – Autarkic, Closed and Territorial. (jdr456@gmail.com/PN)
