The main feature of any crisis is that it shows weak points. Thus, the victim of the Coronavirus pandemic was the globalist concept of an economy centered in the United States.
This was told by American analyst and economic expert Neil Irwin in a publication for The New York Times.
According to him, it is necessary to understand that the recovery of the economy after the crown-crisis is only part of the consequences to be faced. The expert stresses that the crisis generates trends that stretch over the years, pushing the world in the most unpredictable directions.
“Who would have thought that the crisis, which began with mortgage defaults in the American suburbs in 2007, would lead to a financial crisis in Greece in 2010? Or that the collapse of the stock market in New York in 1929 will contribute to the flourishing of fascists in Europe in the 1930s”, – the author notes.
He is confident that the world will see the consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic for several more years, with the likely formation of a global economic model, quite different from the existing one.
“Crises have the ability to bring to the fore issues that are ignored in good times. One obvious candidate is globalization”, – Irwin continues. – “The idea of a global economy with the United States at its center has already collapsed due to China’s strengthening and America’s own turn toward nationalism. There are signs that the COVID-19 crisis will exacerbate and possibly consolidate these changes.”
As a confirmation, the economist pointed to the French Finance Minister’s instruction to review the supply chain to eliminate dependence on China and other Asian countries. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in turn, said they will seize exports of medical goods.
According to the author, the globalist concept of the economy would be replaced by regional trade blocs. The authorities, in turn, will insist on expanding domestic production of certain goods such as pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.
Irwin also drew attention to the fact that even before the pandemic there was tension between the American administration and its Western European partners. However, nationalistic sentiment was growing in Europe. Thus, the pandemic only reinforced existing trends.
“From time to time over the past 12 years, it seems that the world has been going through the period from 1918 to 1939, but as if it were a paraphrase by a forgetful student who confuses events. This era was also characterized by a global financial collapse, the growth of authoritarian governments, the emergence of a new economic superpower – then the United States, now China – and a pandemic, albeit in a different order”, – concluded the expert.