How Politics Shapes Pandemics

Abstract

Academics claim that past events hold important lessons for risk managers. This chapter is based on that premise, specifically on the possibility that those charged with meeting the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic can learn lessons from the successes and failures of those who met the challenge of the 1918–1919 Spanish flu pandemic. One of the most interesting aspects of the United States of America’s (USA’s) experience of the Spanish flu pandemic was the degree to which political agendas shaped local responses. Some cities prioritised public health over almost every other consideration. Others prioritised the local economy and the war effort. Cities that prioritised public health generally experienced less death and suffering than those that did not. Early Twentieth Century politics influenced how the Spanish flu pandemic proceeded. Today, New Millennium politics is shaping the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus-ça-change. During the early stages of the pandemic, some countries prioritised public health. Others did not. Regarding numbers of excess deaths attributable to COVID-19, there are sharp differences between the best and worst performing countries. Academics have long argued that Modernity is Janus-faced, gifting us technologies that, contingent on how they are used, either enhance or erode public safety. Consider, for example, nuclear fission and dynamite. It is a sad irony that one of Modernity’s greatest achievements—affordable air service—helped seed COVID-19 across the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic is an echo from the past. Dark Age dystopias—and mentalities—persist. The promissory note that is Modernity is being questioned as never before.