Context

During the previous two years, the entire world went through the harshest restrictions upon life, free movement and work in modern history, and all for a virus with a mortality rate lower than 1%. For younger generations, the virus was about as deadly as the circulating flu-like viruses. Yet, the most active part of society was forced to stay home most of the time, and likewise, the workforce of the active population decreased unprecedentedly. Depression went to an all-time high, crossing the levels reached just after the Second World War. Maybe people are not fully seeing the impact caused by draconian lockdowns because human psychology was the most affected. Furthermore, younger generations in the Western world and especially in bigger cities tend to pay less attention to the economy, as many believe that socialism is better than capitalism. The reality is that both are the sides of the same coin, and people in the Western world will not experience what Eastern Europe, as well as multiple parts of Asia and Central America experienced and have been experiencing respectively.

History and lessons

History made us aware that not relieving the effects of diverse major crises may lead to the development of toxic ways of thinking by generalisation, and eventually to taking measures that cause more long-term harm than good. After the Second World War, America developed the Marshall Plan and sent funds to Western Europe, as well as West Germany and Berlin, to support people and businesses that were affected and to help them not give in to the propaganda of communism. Given that the levels of depression reached and even exceeded the levels of depression right after the World War and that the economic systems went through unprecedented disruptions, especially affecting small and medium businesses, there are many reasons to believe that people could give in and start promoting communism as a way of filling in the gaps caused by corruption and capitalism. Problems are more persistent in poorer countries and I believe there needs to be massive solidarity to support small businesses that are about to collapse because of the New Normal. The Western world should revise the history of communism and see how some leaders with excessive ideological ideas and that became too passionate helped their countries develop the most sinister forms of dictatorship, like in USSR from 1922 to 1953 or like in North Korea during the present days.

Where we go next fully depends on each one of us

The truth is, mental health and inflation will unfortunately represent the greatest challenges in the coming years because of the immense financial investments upon repeated, erroneous public health approaches. Such investments have been the highest in the history of mankind, and it will not be the politicians, corporate leaders and health authorities who will pay the price, but regular taxpaying citizens who respected all the rules and hoped for better days. I believe this is the time to collect our thoughts and ask each other, where we go next. Justice must be served sooner, rather than later because major problems are coming very quickly. There is one saying that, in order to change the world, we must first change ourselves, and I totally agree with this. The world needs an internal revolution, a change that makes us all more united and sensitive to the pain of one another. We need solidarity like oxygen, and we need to stay away from toxic behaviours. Through the power of love and a thirst for the truth, we can minimise and possibly even avoid problems like great recessions, hunger and record levels of societal depression.

Therefore, I believe we need to remain humble in our ways, refrain from expecting too much from others and from becoming entitled. We are all passengers in this life and we are here to constantly learn. Gaining knowledge is like climbing an endless mountain, and so we will not actually reach a top. As long as we preserve our characters and understand that charity is as necessary as breathing out, we will be alright and discern right from wrong.