EDITORIAL: The Straits Times says= A no less challenging year ahead

There are years that merely pass, and those that stand as clear markers and provide important lessons for current and future generations. That the end of 2020 has arrived may be welcome news to a world weary of how the coronavirus pandemic severely affected societal and economic norms and conventions, impacting jobs, relationships, businesses and endeavours. It upended the sense of well-being and security, the workings of a market economy and the many plans that individuals and societies made based on their expectations and known facts.

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More than 1.7 million people have died and the disaster on the economic front is no less pronounced. According to a KPMG report, the pandemic forced unpalatable policy choices on governments. At one end, the choice lay in minimising the economic damage of Covid-19 by allowing the virus to go through the population relatively unchecked, thereby creating stress on healthcare systems. At the other end, the solution lay in adopting an engineered slowdown of the economy to manage health risks. That approach, which has been adopted generally, called for the closing of borders, the introduction of quarantines, wearing of masks and social distancing, among a host of measures. Consequently, the pandemic triggered the deepest economic recession in nearly a century. The Singapore Management University notes that travel restrictions have led to plunging fortunes for the aviation and hospitality industries even as lockdowns globally also battered the now slowly recovering retail and food and beverage sector. Even so, such protective measures have resulted in historically high unemployment figures. A health crisis destroyed the calculus of supply and demand in a way that was unexpected and brutal.

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Yet, even as 2020 passes, it forms a benchmark for global society. What is remarkable is how governments embarked on bold ameliorative measures to protect jobs and keep economic interactions going. They have done so with varying degrees of success, but the effort underlines not only the state’s vital role in the economic life of nations, particularly in times of existential crisis, but also the importance of multilateral cooperation among countries and their institutions. This remains critical now that vaccines are available. Supply chains, data and information sharing will be vital to restoring the health of nations.

Ordinary people, too, have played their part and must continue to do so. Groups have sprung up spontaneously to help those most in need. This development attests to the welcome growth of civil society. No matter how bad 2020 has been, it provides valuable lessons in the human capacity for resilience. Most societies will be glad to see the end of 2020, but recovering in the next year is not going to be any less challenging.