Nassim Nicholas Taleb, he who cautioned against the black swan events that cause such economic damage was quoted in several newspapers of late.
He believes pandemics are the cost of the system of economics that we have - the interconnected world and the airline travel which brings us all closer together. He also takes aim at those who are, notionally, in charge.
“The higher you go, the more incompetent institutions are; the opposite applies too - the most competent people are in small villages. We must move to localism.”
The old spake about parish, county, country that one heard about footballing loyalties springs to mind.
However, many would reckon that a global response to a global pandemic is in order too - and for that one needs global institutions and global thinking.
