07-22-2021, 08:02 AM
(07-21-2021, 05:22 PM)nguyenivy Wrote: I see again the headline spreading about life expectancy in the US having dropped by the most since WW2. Would those of you here who are S&H theory experts put the COVID-19 pandemic as the big crisis of our time, or is COVID-19 not it despite all that has happened in the last 18 months? The GFC 2008/2009 may have kicked this 4T off, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes the rest of the 2020s to truly recover from the pandemic. As for anything else that may be coming in the 2020s that may eclipse COVID-19, the only thing I would put my money on is impacts of climate change (more natural disasters). Not a war as the world is way too interconnected and dependent on one another than in prior saecula. COVID already disrupted supply chains enough for countries to try anything as foolish as a big war which could completely cut the supply chain.
H-m-m-m. This seems more like a perfect storm. Worse, some aspects, like global warming, require attention that will conflict with other crises like racism and inequality. We'll need universal sacrifice, but sacrifice is never equal or even vaguely fair. Sadly, I see a massive box of bandaids being applied everywhere, and actual solutions coming, by necessity, in the next saeculum ... or never.
We've finally managed to create an existential environment with multiple crises and little clue on solving them. If anything, we're too divided to agree on anything, no matter how trivial, so working together will be impossible for this 4T. Maybe the Millennials will have a better shot at starting the process in the 1T. I hope so.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.