Monday, 20 April 2020

Solidarity III - elastic


Is solidarity a natural trait or one which we have developed over generations, having found solidarity to be a profitable strategy? Without going into that question, the issue of solidarity has hit us in the Corona context on various levels. On the international level, with questions of full open and honest information exchange (did China or did it not etc.) and soon thereafter in the world-wide hunt for ventilators, masks and other hospital supplies. Once a vaccine will become available, the rush to be first in the delivery line is likely to be brutal.

On the personal level, the first weeks of Corona saw most people take the requests, instructions and regulations seriously. As people are getting used to living with Corona, self-discipline is weakening. It appears, that kindness shown through solidarity, requires the right dosage of fear. Too much fear produces a dog-eat-dog state, in which we steal supplies from each other. Too little fear makes us disregard the risks which others may be subject to. In the first few weeks, there was just the right amount of fear. This is now, for the time at least, over.

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