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The future is here; we need to grasp it

Steve Maharey

Just when we thought it was safe to anticipate a world that could live with the virus, along comes Omicron. Even the name sounds like something from a Hollywood monster movie.

It is more infectious than Covid-19 or its Delta strain and it is coming to a neighbourhood near you. What can we do?

The immediate answer is that we continue with much of what we have been doing – vaccinate, wear masks, use physical distancing, wash our hands and support our health system.

But we should not panic. Noone needs another lockdown. Our economy and our mental health can only take so much. Nor do we need to rush to ban international travel. The South Africans did the right thing by quickly telling the world about the new variant. They gave the world time to react appropriately and in a co-ordinated way – even though that did not happen.

We should also stop hoping for a return to normal any time soon.

Back when we first heard the word pandemic, it was common to hear talk of inventing a new normal. The pandemic was talked up as the opportunity to reimagine a new way of life economically, socially, culturally, environmentally, technologically, and politically. A kind of global Big Bang.

But as the pandemic dragged on through Delta and now Omicron, the urge to just get back to the way things were sounded very attractive.

The call to do things differently did not die completely. US President Joe Biden still wants to ‘‘build back better’’. COP26 still aimed to save the planet. The Great Resignation is gathering momentum as workers reassess what is important. The New Zealand Government still talks of a transformation agenda.

But in the face of an ongoing pandemic and faltering public will, there is a sense that any plans for change have been reduced to doing the wrong

There is a sense that any plans for change have been reduced to doing the wrong things righter rather than mapping a new pathway to the future.

things righter rather than mapping a new pathway to the future.

There have been exceptions. Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire, by Harvard Professor Rebecca Henderson, makes the case for a new kind of capitalism – one that can ensure we are prosperous while not destroying ourselves. Business, she says, does not have to be all about making money and maximising shareholder value. It could aim, for example, to improve the environment, reduce inequality and support truly democratic values.

This is not a new argument, but it is timely because it is being made when the world does indeed seem to be on fire. Deep down we all know that life cannot continue as it has been. Inequality, rampant consumerism, racism, pollution, unregulated new technologies, failing democracy – we know we are at the end of the current road. But the new one is not clear. Henderson is arguing that something different is possible.

What is most attractive about the kind of argument Henderson makes, is its focus on a future of possibilities rather than limits. Through a mix of suggestions and real-life stories she shows that a new, better form of capitalism can emerge. I hope as many people as possible read what she has to say and take it to heart.

It is my greatest concern that as the virus mutates and continues to dominate what individuals, businesses and governments think about, we will all lose sight of the opportunity we have to build a new normal.

The signs of this are everywhere. Nations withdrawing into themselves. A mistrust of science. Large constituencies using the pandemic to state their opposition to almost everything. None of this is about looking for new ways forward. If anything, it is a refusal to engage with the future at all.

There is still time to do better. The vast majority of people have either been vaccinated or want to be vaccinated.

These people want to work together to manage if not defeat the virus. Among this vast majority are the people who also know there is no going back to normal, there is only going forward to something better. The crisis brought about by the virus created the space for this to happen.

It is to these better angels that leaders from all walks of life need to talk to. They are the future.

Focus

en-nz

2021-12-05T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-05T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281818582117635

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