COVIDLIZATION: Another globalization
Evolving from the First World War to the Second World War and then to this pandemic i.e. COVID-19, the world has traveled in the flight of Globalization. Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. Surely this third world war between the world on one side and a microscopic virus on the other side has made us stand still. Oil production is lowest ever, share markets have crashed and nothing is working. There were pandemics earlier also but not like this one which has locked the entire globe’s movement.
On January 30, India reported its first case of COVID-19 in Kerala. which rose to three by February 3; all were students who returned from Wuhan, China. No significant rise in cases was seen in the rest of February. On March 4, 22 new cases came to light, including those of an Italian tourist group with 14 infected members. The story is the same for other countries that become part of this pandemic due to infected people carrying it mostly from Europe. South Africa’s first case had gone to Northern Italy for a skiing trip. In Mongolia, the first infected person was a Frenchman who had come to the country from France via Moscow.
I have never heard that the government is asking to maintain social distancing. we hardly interact socially, no ministerial-level meetings, no foreign tours. Everything is halted. I am living in Punjab state of India where eatables that are imported from other states, especially fruits are either unavailable or are too costly. Borders are sealed at international and national levels. This flight of Coronavirus has taken off from Wuhan, China, and is landing nowhere with a stay in Italy, Iran, Spain, Germany, whole of Europe. With India in its backyard, far-flung continents are not beyond its reach. Today the most affected is the U.S. As of today 15/04/2020, we have 1,999,927 confirmed cases with 126,741 deaths affecting more than 210 countries.
Hundreds of millions of people are ineffective LOCKDOWN in the world. This pandemic has led to a huge loss in trillions of dollars to global economies and almost wiped out the future of small businessmen around the world along with the lives of n number of daily workers.
We are undoubtedly in the Global Recession. Globalization has been the biggest driver of economic growth. But the sudden halt to import and export has put the economies into crisis.
There will be no surprise to see closed borders and limited trade with all necessary precautions within and outside countries. Will the post-Corona situation practically end Globalization? Answering this question would be too early. But I would like to use the term COVIDLIZATION. Yes, this is a very new word, you may not find it in a dictionary or anywhere else but definitely you will see it trending post this pandemic. COVIDLIZATION may be termed a fear of interaction and Integration between nations. It is just a hypothesis and a start. The first world war lasted for 4 years with roughly 40 million causalities. The second one lasted for six years with 70-85 million causalities and this so-called third world war is just 4-5 months young and has caused 126,741 deaths so far with huge economic losses. Of course, once the pandemic has eased, these restrictions will surely be removed. People will be more aware of the risks associated with the free movement of people, people may avoid life, and businesses that require crossing borders. Repercussions would be devastating, particularly for MNCs and other businesses that have earlier benefitted from this economic interdependence. With the Olympics postponed, IPL ended without a single match played and many more international or national events that were directly or indirectly linked to the livelihood of people will have a huge impact on people’s lives. Universities and research institutions might be searching for methods to measure the imprints of COVID-19 post-pandemic. The hardest hit is the tourism sector, figures of losses are yet to come because Corona is still batting and the world is not able to find a bowler who can take its wicket.
Harpreet Sidhu
M.A. 2nd year (Defense and National Security Studies, Panjab University)
h.sidhu0016@gmail.com