4 ms·
Given how simple[1] coronavirus would be to solve if people took it seriously and opted to socially distance as much as possible, it's rather sad that we're bou
by tome 7y ago
Given how simple[1] coronavirus would be to solve if people took it seriously and opted to socially distance as much as possible, it's rather sad that we're bounding how terrible it will be by the some of worst catastrophes ever to be suffered by humanity rather than by something like a recession.
[1] simple, but not necessarily painless
- rebuilder 7y agoRecessions kill people, too. Suicide rates go up, healthcare suffers, poverty worsens.
- graeme 7y agoAn enormous outbreak seems likely to cause a recession. The economy is people. People get sick and die, the economy suffers.
- TheOtherHobbes 7y agoIt's almost as if we're incapable of creating a planetary economy that can handle shocks with robustness and resilience.
- graeme 7y agoPeople often harp on this point, but plagues travelled the globe long before globalization. They just moved a bit slower from area to area. But they were quite devastating in less connected ages.
- tome 7y agoYes, this is all true.
- UncleOxidant 7y agoDeprive the fire of it's fuel and it goes out. In this case the fuel is people and the virus is the fire. If nearly everyone isolated themselves in their homes for a 2 or 3 weeks the virus would run out of people to infect. Essentially what they had to do in Wuhan. We aren't taking it seriously enough in the West to do this.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoThe problem is, though, that we live in a very connected world. If absolutely everyone, worldwide, isolated themselves, then yes, the virus would die out. But if everyone does so except Iran, say, or Oklahoma, then Iran or Oklahoma reinfect the world and everyone has to do it again.
- tome 7y agoYes, and maybe we have to ban travel from Iran(!) or Oklahoma until they cooperate.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoOklahoma would be very hard. Iran would be easier for us... but not for Iraq. You probably couldn't prohibit travel from Iraq into Syria. And so it goes...