I like the image of the compass. We are entering uncharted territories in the storm. There, like when sailing or hiking, we don’t have to follow a straight line but with a good compass we can pull edges keeping an eye on the beacon or the summit.
We barely made it in 2008-09 but eventually survived.
Today we are in the midst of the worst ever recession in modern history. The most fragile part of our world is facing a perfect hurricane. Sanitary crisis. Economic collapse. Plunge of commodity prices. Drying up of remittances. 300M people facing famine. Highest number of displaced people. And potentially long term deceleration of globalization benefits. Just to name but only the major headwinds.
And where is our compass? Creeping protectionism. Selfish reactions. It is America, China, XYZ first. Short sightedness of international discussions. The G20 mobilized with efforts to the tune of 15-20B when trillions are needed. No genuine coordination in sight. UN call to peace getting limited traction if any.
If our compass is about to sink in the deep sea, if we can’t get anywhere and show true humanity with the virus today what are the chances we can tackle climate change, inequalities, nuclear proliferation... tomorrow. Time to grab it back and keep it firm!
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