In the previous parts of this series, we have talked about the fallout of the Corona pandemic. Now, it is time to look at how humanity can use this to its advantage.

by vivianschulerphotography





“Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.” Carl G. Jung

What the founder of analytical psychology meant by this is that without obstacles to overcome we cannot develop in a meaningful way. This is just how evolution (and thus life) works. [1] Lacking a real challenge, we have grown complacent and indulged in decadence.

It is not only the collapse of the socio-economic house of cards that can be traced back to this. We have triggered the Sixth Mass Extinction – the fifth killed off 76% of all species, including dinosaurs [2][13][14][20]. Air pollution is killing 7 million humans each year. [11] The rising sea level as well as intensifying droughts, fires and storms are damaging our infrastructure and will displace a billion people by 2050. Man-made climate change is threatening to exterminate us very soon if we do not turn around by 180 degrees immediately. [3][4][5][6][12][20]

Enter Corona. Although it was unthinkable before, we have put the global economy into an artificial coma in a matter of months. [7] The positive impact on our environment is significant. [8] Our parasitic system has been acting like a virus itself, inducing a fever in its host. But as it is failing, we might get the chance to build a more symbiotic society after all.

Even before the recent drop in oil prices, renewable alternatives have been much more profitable [16][21]. Now more than ever this is forcing oil corporations to invest heavily in clean energy. [17][18][19] Moreover, new trends like home office, reduced business travel, the decentralization of production and shortening of supply lines will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also make our system more resilient. [15] Some do even predict a general shift away from viral growth and mindless consumption towards more sustainable behavioral patterns and environmentally friendly industries. [9]

At this point, I’d like to mention the Latin word “apocalypsis”. It stems from Ancient Greek and means “the lifting of the veil”, “disclosure” or “revelation”. [10] And this is exactly what we are witnessing right now: everything in the world that is dysfunctional, corrupt and harmful is revealed. Be it the failings of the human system or our impact on Nature, it all is being exposed – and punished.

Overall, COVID-19 might just be the evolutionary pressure we need. We are seeing international cooperation, solidarity and capacity to act on an unprecedented scale. Thereby, the pandemic has proven our capability of taking the large-scale action necessary to fight for our existence. [11]

It is time for us as a species to focus our tremendous creative force not on what can be done for our individual amusement, but on what must be in order to survive collectively. First and foremost, life is about survival – it always has been (even if many nations were lucky enough to have a break for some decades).

In this spirit, the last part of this series will be about how each of us can weather the storm.



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Sources

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution, as of 2020-04-06

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction, as of 2020-04-06

[3] https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-humanity-only-has-100-years-left-on-earth-before-doomsday, as of 2020-04-06

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_risk_from_global_warming, as of 2020-04-06

[5] https://assets.website-files.com/5e663c02af4002dcdcab78dc/5e80ecf3d75a9b7b49f937a2_Der_1-5-Grad-Klimaplan_fuer_Deutschland.pdf, as of 2020-04-06

[6] https://rebellion.earth/the-truth/the-emergency/, as of 2020-04-06

[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/25/were-not-killing-economy-over-coronavirus-were-putting-it-into-coma/, as of 2020-04-06

[8] https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/culture/is-the-coronavirus-lockdown-actually-healing-the-planet, as of 2020-04-06

[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZN3AGySS3A, as of 2020-04-06

[10] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apocalypsis, as of 2020-04-06

[11] https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/18/world/coronavirus-and-climate-crisis-response-intl-hnk/index.html, as of 2020-04-06

[12] https://www.newscientist.com/article/2205741-is-it-true-climate-change-will-cause-the-end-of-civilisation-by-2050/, as of 2020-04-06

[13] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/25/half-all-species-extinct-end-century-vatican-conference, as of 2020-04-06

[14] https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/big-five-extinctions, as of 2020-04-06

[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socio-economic_impact_of_the_2019%E2%80%9320_coronavirus_pandemic#Possible_long-term_impacts, as of 2020-04-06

[16] https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/09/business/oil-price-crash-explainer/index.html, as of 2020-04-06

[17] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X19300574, as of 2020-04-06

[18] https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/06/04/big-oil-is-investing-billions-in-renewable-energy.aspx, as of 2020-04-06

[19] https://www.ft.com/content/d94c35ac-aef9-11e9-b3e2-4fdf846f48f5, as of 2020-04-06

[20] https://theconversation.com/climate-change-could-cause-abrupt-biodiversity-losses-this-century-135968, stand 11.04.2020

[21] https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/20/business/oil-price-crash-bankruptcy/index.html, stand 21.04.2020



