Corona collective

Corona collective

If there is one thing we will remember about the corona pandemic, it is that we fought the virus together, even worldwide. It is a collective struggle in which sacrifices have been asked and made. Where solidarity was paramount. Solidarity with the elderly, with the weak.

Struggle, sacrifices, solidarity. These are old-fashioned, almost forgotten values. And this in a time and society in which the individual has become the norm. With maximum space for independent choices and development. But also in the expectation that one's own life is completely manageable. And that the individual is capable of solving all kinds of issues. Whether that is preventing poverty or moving towards more sustainability. The individual is expected to make that happen. It also explains the boom in self-help books and the popularity of behavioral knowledge and campaigns.

But the big lesson is that complex issues and global crises cannot be resolved by putting all the balls in the basket of the individual person, with all his shortcomings. A broader perspective and careful consideration of values and interests are then required. Our open society and economy require mechanisms in which well-considered choices can be made. This will place high demands on the institutions of our democratic constitutional state in the coming decades. To judges who are sensitive and know the real world. To a parliament in which not only the partial interests of 'the worker', 'the farmer' or 'the elderly' are paramount, but precisely the general interest. Including the interests of those who are not at the table: future generations, nature, the poor countries in the world.

And this also applies within companies. They have now experienced that their business strategy can regularly be seriously disrupted: by a virus from China, a stricter nitrogen requirement, a hacker from Russia or by their own overworked employees. Management of companies is also required to take a broad view in order to make the best choices. That doesn't happen automatically. Why not provide a seat on the Supervisory Board for a philosopher, a former journalist, an environmental activist or a teacher? It will certainly help.