Context
Neither governments nor the world’s business community have adequately prepared us for the enormous impact a new and highly infectious respiratory virus would have on our ‘globalized’ world. Despite the multiple times such an event has occurred over the past century, none, whether the political elite of ‘nation states’[1] or the leaders of the world’s corporations appreciated that commerce-driven, minimally-governed, globalization would create not just economic benefits for many (or at least some), but a literally unhealthy interdependence.[2] A level of connectedness where the inhabitants of major urban areas on opposite sides of the planet would now so easily and rapidly share the consequences of a global pandemic.
The pandemic, and mankind’s response, is a patch-work. Its arrival and pace and lethality of infection, the degree of human resistance, and the governance deployed have been wildly different throughout the world. There are no signs yet of the appearance of ways and means with which to connect all the patches into a ‘fabric’ amenable to collective effort. If anything, the differences are intensifying.
The response to the patch-work pandemic is tens of thousands of unconnected intentions, plans and actions characterized by a total lack of commonality of resources’ in quality and quantity. Many that have been provided by those formally and conventionally in-charge arrive too late, or as works in progress, Some have already been cancelled. Even in month four of the crisis, very few resources are being created and ‘managed’ with sufficient and appropriate thought, effort and resources to be, at a minimum, not mutually disruptive or destructive.
Over a four week period from May 12 to June 2, 2020, the IdeaConnector.net produced four online discussions on the patchwork of responses by Canada and the world to the Covid-19 pandemic. Eminent global thinkers, leaders of organizations and businesses, accomplished academics, and Indigenous individuals from Canada, Germany and the USA.
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