Thread by @bopinion

Global supply chains are breaking, borders rising within nation-states, stock exchanges are convulsing with fear, and recession looms over the global economy.

The coronavirus has disrupted world order
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Almost exactly a century ago, every aspect of the world was altered: from the arts & philosophy to sciences & economics.

Two World Wars & the Great Depression generated new inequalities & fueled the rise of both left and far-right political movements
bloom.bg/39YlDtb

These earth shattering events pitted the working class against established ruling elites. In our own conjuncture, all ingredients of the previous calamity are present, on an unparalleled scale bloom.bg/39YlDtb

For decades now, working people have lost their security & dignity from:
De-industrialization
The outsourcing of jobs
Automation

This has led the aggrieved in most advanced Western countries vulnerable to demagoguery & led to the rise of populist leaders bloom.bg/39YlDtb

The coronavirus, devastating in itself, may prove to be only the first of many shocks that lie ahead.

Get ready for a new political and economic era in which the state resumes its fundamental role as the preventer of anarchy
bloom.bg/39YlDtb

It has taken a disaster for the state to assume its original responsibility to protect citizens.

The same happened after the World Wars, when the warfare state mutated faster into a welfare state in European countries on both sides of the war
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

In all countries where the coronavirus first spread, the state leads the war against it, imposing draconian lockdowns on entire populations:
🇨🇳China
🇰🇷South Korea
🇮🇷Iran
🇸🇬Singapore
🇹🇭Thailand
🇹🇼Taiwan
🇭🇰Hong Kong
🇮🇹Italy
bloom.bg/2TYfYht

State intervention is welcome in this crisis, but history shows there is reason to fear it too
bloom.bg/2TYfYht