A distinctive feature of a pandemic event is that it really is a global thing. Even the world wars could claim to have quiet fronts... and that matters as a glo

A distinctive feature of a pandemic event is that it really is a global thing. Even the world wars could claim to have quiet fronts... and that matters as a global society. Normally - since the modern era began - we're in a default state of national competition and every country is under some obligation to work itself to the bone and exploit what it can to get ahead of the others. Hence the default response to crises has long been "keep a strong international image, maintain business as usual". The crisis harms a select group somewhere and everyone else ignores it. But we did periodically have pandemics, and each one changed the character of things going forward. And it's clear why that is the case; you can't really get ahead if you don't take care of the disease. The as-usual response fails because it affects everyone. Even AIDS, which was approached so, so reluctantly, eventually got an organized response. And this response is more likely to be humane than most crisis management because there is so little room to evade the issue and try to fit it into the usual powermongering circus.