The ‘Black Swan’ Covid Catastrophe Shows Us Just How Fragile Our World Is

January 13, 2021

The Guardian

January 3, 2021

So-called Black Swan events are by definition rare, extremely impactful and retrospectively predictable. History may ultimately deem the COVID-19 pandemic a one-off aberration that signifies nothing. The 2008 financial crisis similarly prompted dire predictions of class warfare, but in the end changed little. Everyone now thirsts for a return to normal life after the pandemic subsides, with vigorous engagement in everything lockdowns and social distancing currently limit. “But COVID-19 has forced us to rethink the way we work, how we shop, the role of government, how the economy works at a national and global level. Above all, it has shown us how fragile everything is.”