COVID-19 Special Edition #5

Our highlights from the hundreds of excellent pieces our system uncovered during the week.

"During WWII, soccer continued operations despite the apparent difficulties. Total closures were, for the most part, temporary, and the sport was practiced whenever possible...[This] contrasts with the COVID-19 crisis. In record time, virtually all leagues in the world stopped operations, and for the first time since its foundation, with but a few exceptions, there were no games anywhere in the world."

"COVID-19 epitomizes but does not exclusively define global reach of China's cities, which is weaving new interconnections between humans and non-humans, including viruses and endangered wildlife. "

"How do we stop this from happening again, is: by doing all we can to prevent such pathogens infecting humans in the first place. And that means taking a long, hard look at our relationship with the natural world, and particularly with the animals that sustain us."

"Capitalism has accelerated the transmission of diseases. Historically, most epidemics have spread geographically through two common forms of human long-distance movement: trade and war. The timing, however, changed dramatically with the rise of capitalism."

"Historian of science Evan Hepler-Smith recently asked: “What happens if we think about the current state of affairs not as a war against coronavirus, but a no less urgent collective effort to protect, improve, and sustain pulmonary health—the ability to breathe comfortably?”"

"It was only three days into our self-isolation that my husband turned to me and said: “Isn’t it depressing that we already know Ben Lerner will write the best American novel about this?” “The real question is,” said a novelist friend that night on FaceTime, “will anyone even be interested in reading about this once it’s over? I, for one, am already sick of it.”"

"History moves slowly, then all at once. The coronavirus crisis has catapulted us into the latter rhythm. The pace of events has accelerated sharply; the course of events has become impossible to predict. In retrospect, 2020 may end up being a 1968 or a 1917: a year of leaps and ruptures, and a dividing line between one era and the next."

"La question du niveau et du poids de la dette publique va devenir cruciale, mais aussi de celle des ménages au point de faire de l’annulation des dettes une revendication politique aisément saisissable par un très grand nombre de travailleurs. Jeudi 9 avril 2020 Christine Lagarde s’est élevée contre l’idée avec beaucoup de vigueur."

"A verdade é que este período de luta pela sobrevivência física não gerou até agora nenhum sobressalto político ou espiritual, nenhuma tomada de consciência da necessidade de mudar de vida. Não gerou esperança no futuro."

"La sociedad en su conjunto parece asumir que, rebasada cierta edad, la vida del ciudadano empieza a estar suficientemente 'amortizada'."

If you'd like more such high-quality materials on the COVID-19 crisis, head over here.