Yes, systemic thinking might have helped to a degree. Plus the imagination and pandemic know-how to understand the likely consequences. Like understanding that

Yes, systemic thinking might have helped to a degree. Plus the imagination and pandemic know-how to understand the likely consequences. Like understanding that a virus even more lethal and contagious can spread from one part of the globe to another within a year, again. Or that a nuclear war could be triggered by mistake any time. Or a combined terrorist attack could be launched on all nuclear power plants and other centralized nodes in the highly electrified backbone, after which a collapse of society would be close to instant. Not to mention climate change. Etc. There are a myriad of disasters that could or will happen, at some point. But the most important reason that we are not prepared is AFAICS because governments and people generally simply hope that such things won't happen, and if they do, not on their watch, due to the path of least resistance. Understandable, but for one who long has had the ability to envision all sorts of mayhem, I sure wish people would take this opportunity to wake up, not only to virus threats but to all of the gravest risks that confront us, and start chipping away at those that are actually possible to mitigate.