Who will benefit the most from exiting the pandemic?
Remix
Vaccine geopolitics and geoeconomics have become a fact. The ideals of global justice in vaccine distribution have been pushed aside in the race over who will be first in, and who will benefit the most from, the upcoming wave of economic renewal.
To what extent the pandemic can be compared to war can be seen today in the example of the politics and economics of many developed Western states. Governments are imposing extraordinary social restrictions during times of peace. State economies, unnoticed by the majority of the public, are transforming into the typical model of a war economy, with rising debt and omnipresent state interference.
The question of how we will exit this “wartime” economy is thus being asked increasingly often.
The economic and political futures of particular states will depend on how this exit will take place and who will do it best. Which states will turn out to be the victors and which the losers?
The stakes are much higher than just geoeconomic struggles. Just as after the passing of a great flood, the current catastrophe may completely change the social and political landscape in many areas. Some political forces may benefit from the wave of economic rebirth, while others may lose their chance to hold power for a very long time.
State economies, unnoticed by the majority of the public, are transforming into the typical model of a war economy, with rising debt and omnipresent state interference.
The economic consequences of leaving the pandemic behind will also change the social picture in many countries. Many factors point to the primary loser being the middle class — which up until now has been treated as the foundation of the political and economic stability of liberal Western states.
Which social forces will now gain the advantage and influence over politics?
Exiting the “wartime” situation will also point to other great victors, to whom governments and states will be ready to entrust our futures to an even greater extent. They most certainly will spare no expense on them.
The Big Tech companies, the pharmaceutical industry and the entire renewable energy sector are already gathering massive political and financial attention as critical areas for the economy and society of the future.
Yet what will happen to those who lose out to these giants?