Coronavirus: an adversary of the populist movement

March 11, 2020

Coronavirus: an adversary of the populist movement

The advent of the coronavirus has ushered in a blunt form of protectionism that is exceeding what SARS wrought in 2003. Governments in Germany, the United State, and elsewhere have had to contend with Neo - Nazism, apartheid or other social mores, not to mention, terrorism, at least for my memory from Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968 to Islamic State and its adherents in 2015. Though, the roots of terrorism have surfaced in the Islamic world and were elucidated by Samuel Huntington in The Clash of Civilisations, the coronavirus spares no region judging by the schematic provided by John Hopkins University. Coronavirus COVID - 19 GLOBAL CASES

That the origin of COVID - 19 lies in a Wuhan market is immaterial, as the crux of the outbreak there rests with officials who failed to limit the sale of illegal wild-life such as snakes and civets. By the time Wuhan and Italian officials, in particular, acted it was too late and now the international community is engulfed in a pandemic (W.H.O. acknowledged) that seems to have no known ceiling at this time, because, of course, there is no antidote available. Some hospitals have tried a combination of drugs including HIV medicines with sporadic success. In true authoritarian fashion, President Xi is championing the strength of communism in reacting to the crisis, and, in this regard, he is correct, human rights aside. After all, 7,500 Chinese workers constructed a hospital in ten days with 2-3 hours of sleep on average. Let's assume that nary a hangnail was experienced by workers during this endeavour. Such is the non union life. So, give credit where it is due. We can see populism manifest since the early days of Mao up to the present Trump Administration in Washington.

Consider China's Belt & Road Initiative (BRI,) the U.K.'s BREXIT, and Trump's America - First policy as examples of a world tuning inward. Core ideologically liberal nation states including Sweden, Germany, and Western based democracies remain mostly true to their roots. However, the coronavirus is causing a shift towards policies that are anathematic to what got them elected in the first place. How quickly government leaders respond when the virus is under control and how will this impact their policy decisions- foreign policy, immigration, health - care and others, remains to be seen. Even sports events are facing public closures where more than any events over 1,000 attendees are prohibited in parts of California state. San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League will be playing a home game in front of an empty rink on March 19. On top of that, the NBA has just announced that it is suspending their season due to the coronavirus (a Utah Jazz player tested positive.) Unchartered territory for the NHL and international major sports where the Japanese Olympics are in question, and Italian sports are on hold. The loss of revenue, merchandise sales, and employment hours is sure to put the sporting faithful in a foul mood ahead of the U.S. election season in November. Compounding matters is the travel ban from Europe to the United States, excluding Great Britain. Italy is the second nation-state most severely affected with 12,462 documented infections (12/03/20) and 827 deaths (12/03/20.)

Because I am not an avid traveller or connoisseur of exotic or imported foods, my life will go on unimpeded. But, look at the Hopkin''s graph for the United States. The virus is building up along the U.S. - Canadian border based on infections from the West Coast - Washington (366), Mid west - Iowa (13) and the East coast -New York (220,) as well as the lower states.

The virus, apparently, has difficulty surviving in warm temperatures, therefore, with Spring upon us, the contagion may be repressed.

The aftermath might prompt global leaders to take a harder line on China regarding trade despite supply chains under siege (see Apple,) while immigration quotas and criterion stand to come under closer scrutiny. The FED in New York and the Chinese central government are promising funds to aid businesses affected by the virus akin to the 2008 financial crisis. The Biological Institute of Israel has announced that it is close to beginning trials on a vaccine, with a period of six months to 1.5 years the typical time-line to bring a safe solution for mass use. Self quarantine, and the ability to work from home will mitigate against the spread of COVID - 19 reducing stress on a health-care system. Notwithstanding, this is the dawn of a new period of globalisation, for better or worse.