Post COVID-19 Immunity

COVID-19 taught us the value of proactive action against tiny things that can make widespread destruction across communities with different religious believes, tribal identities, and socio-political systems. This dawns upon us a new wisdom that will make us immune to a lot of other seemingly tiny ideas that can cause large scale destruction when there is large scale adoption.

Therefore, next time we hear any of the following, pause and think:

1. My tribe is the most civilized, those in the other tribe are savages: COVID-19 exposed the inner generocity of all communities in different parts of the world ranging from cooking food for the vulnerable to volunteering in the respective health services. It also exposed how we behaved in supermarkets irrespective of tribe. It showed how much effort media had to take to teach us how to wash hands, and how to think about others even if we are not in a high risk group. Basically, none is more civilized than others, though there can be differences in the balance of some traits over others. We all have things to learn from each other.

2. My God is the only God worth worshipping: COVID-19 showed how the same virus gives different symptoms depending on the condition of the person irrespective of the God one believes in. It showed that the phenomenon of causes and conditions giving rise to effects held ground and was useful for science to find solutions common to all mankind. One kind of prayer didn't seem to have more effect than another kind.

3. Ours is the best economic model that solves the economic problem of satisfying human needs and greed with limited resources: COVID-19 showed the relative strengths and weaknesses of capitalism, socialism, communism, and mixed economies. It showed that no economic model holds absolute validity to solve problems in all situations. Even within US, different states had to bring in different models to balance private and public sector initiatives and scarce resources such as ventilators had to be rationined because purchasing power alone cannot solve such problems. Therefore, we have to think about economic models that can take different shapes to suit the economic problem at hand.

4. My way of governance is the best and others should be taught how to live that life: COVID-19 showed the relative advantage of all systems ranging from democracies to autocracies in a crisis situation. Most democracies had the advantage of sourcing diverse professional opinions and to allow bottom up initiatives to drive volunteer efforts. We also saw the need to have central coordination to avoid duplication of efforts and wastage of resources. South Korea, US, and UK are democracies. However, the South Korean government quickly adapted to the situation to test more people using a government led initiative, while US could use the situation to promote entrepreneurship to develop alternative tests. US and UK governments also triggered war-time laws to order certain companies to divert efforts. Therefore, we have to think about governance systems that can flow like water to suit the shape of the valley.

Basically, post COVID-19 immunity should transcend bodily immunity to a wisdom to lower conflicts in the world due to fixed views. This will allow better healthcare and education models to emerge to fight the next battle for humanity.