Back in February one of our investors in Planetary told me that #covid was a really big deal and that it was going to cause cascading failures in the supply chain. Of course industry and government officials reassured the public that everything was under control. It’s not. This pandemic was both entirely predicted and also a #blackswan out of nowhere event. We knew pandemics would happen but not the nature of the disease or when. So much of our economy is based on the idea that tomorrow will be like today. Once the norms fall apart what happens? How does that relate to Anglo-American millennialism which focuses on an impending collapse around every corner?

I lived in Argentina during the 2002 economic collapse. The economy shrank by 75% in a single month. It was very hard on people, especially the middle class, but it didn’t cause the everybody for themselves that Hollywood predicts. Instead there was a tremendous outpouring of humanity and mutual aid. Turns out that the normal human reaction to a crisis is humane and not selfish. So much so that Rebecca Solnit has documented that the reaction to a crisis is often considered a high point in people’s lives due to that common purpose and support. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend her short book, A paradise built in hell.

It's coming....

The Coconut Revolution is another great example of a crisis turning into mutual-aid and collective effort for autonomy.

Let there be a storm, greater then all storms, so that there may be calm.

This pandemic is a learning event. We should have learned socially dependent creatures can’t survive by isolation. We should as a species have more fully embraced bravery and continued on with our jobs. Of course we can take preventative measures. If none of the bees leave the hive the entire colony dies..