The coronavirus crisis could be the historical event that sparks a socially-conscious shift in Americans' political priorities, experts told CNBC.

The United States has confirmed 759,696 cases of Covid-19 and over 40,000 deaths from the virus to date, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. New York state, which has had 238,831 cases of the coronavirus, now has a higher number of confirmed cases than any country in the world.

Effects of the outbreak are also being felt economically, with lockdown and shelter-at-home measures leading to record jobless claims. So far throughout the crisis, 22 million Americans have filed claims — almost wiping out all of the job gains since the Great Recession.

Speaking to CNBC via telephone, Morgan Housel, partner at venture capital firm Collaborative Fund and author of "The Psychology of Money," said the U.S. had historically not faced any localized destruction deep enough to prompt a widespread shift in thinking. Although he noted the exception of Pearl Harbor and the huge human toll experienced during the Second World War.

"The U.S. did not face as much local devastation during World War II as Europe did — and I think at the end of at the end of World War II, most of Europe came together and said, 'we just went through this incredible trauma, therefore we want more social safety net, we want less risk, we want a more predictable future,'" he said.

"So I think Americans were just more open to saying, 'no, I want to swing for the fences and take risks, I don't need a safety net,'" he explained.

However, the devastation wrought by the coronavirus could push U.S. voters to favor policies supporting social security measures like universal health care or stronger retirement schemes, according to Housel.

"I think maybe this is going to push the United States closer to where Europe has been for the last 60 years in terms of wanting a deeper and more structured social safety net than we currently have right now," he told CNBC.