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Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.
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Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.

A crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. Here are 34 big thinkers’ predictions for what’s to come.

Politico Magazine
Politico Magazine, 2020
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8

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  • Applicable
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The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis changed how Americans perceive their country and the world. The coronavirus pandemic has quarantined people in their homes, and altered their relationships and how they view the institutions that govern them. As with earlier crises, the coronavirus crisis may change people and US society as a whole in fundamental and lasting ways. No one can predict how this will play out. Politico Magazine asked experts and thinkers for their visions of the future.

Summary

Difficulties generate opportunities.

The myriad restrictions and deprivations that the coronavirus demands may also offer a range of opportunities. Among them are an increasingly cutting-edge and adaptable relationship with technology; a lessening of barriers among Americans with differing viewpoints; a renewed love for non-urban spaces and a lesson in relishing quieter enjoyment. These experts offer their look ahead:

With the coronavirus crisis, intimate personal interactions have become high-risk.

Most Americans were shocked by the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 financial crisis. Echoing the calamitous 1918 flu pandemic, the coronavirus pandemic will transform how people experience the world and how they act. Suddenly, touching each other or standing near one another has become problematic and even dangerous.

Once the crisis passes, how long it will take for life to return to ordinary isn’t clear. People may remain uneasy about shaking hands or hugging and the constant hand-washing habit may endure. People may continue to question the urgency of connecting face to face rather than remotely. (Linguistics professor...

About the Author

Politico Magazine is an American political opinion magazine founded in 2007.

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