COVID-19: The Great Reset Book Summary - COVID-19: The Great Reset Book explained in key points

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COVID-19: The Great Reset summary

Name: COVID-19: The Great Reset
Rating: 3.6 (251 reviews)
Author: Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret

Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret

A vision for what the post-Covid world could look like

3.6 (251 ratings)

24 mins

Brief summary

Covid 19 The Great Reset explores the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and offers insights on how society can adapt and thrive in a post-pandemic world.

Topics

Change & Evolution Pandemic

Table of Contents

COVID-19: The Great Reset
Summary of 8 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Discover one vision for what the post-COVID world could look like.

Every aspect of the modern world has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Countries have gone into lockdown, businesses have faced huge challenges, individual mental health has suffered.

But the upheaval caused by COVID-19 can also be viewed as an opportunity – a unique moment that could allow us to reset many aspects of the modern world in a more sustainable way.

That, at least, is what Klaus Schwab believes. Schwab is the founder of the World Economic Forum, the Swiss-based nongovernmental organization best known for running an annual meeting in Davos every January. Schwab and his coauthor, Thierry Malleret, call their vision for a new society The Great Reset, and these blinks lay out the key changes they hope for.

This is just one set of suggestions for what the future should hold; the views are the subjective opinions of Schwab and Malleret, and they may or may not prove influential in how governments and businesses choose to act.

However, if you want to discover more of what the post-COVID-19 world might look like, it’s well worth your time.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

how we should rethink the global economy in future years;
what the pandemic means for neoliberalism; and
what the effect could be on the environment.

The coronavirus pandemic affords us the opportunity to create a better society.

By mid-2020, it was clear that the coronavirus pandemic would be a defining moment for the whole world. It was equally clear that its ramifications would transform everything: economics, geopolitics, our relationship with the environment, even our relationships with other people.

This is a pivotal moment. We have the chance to ensure that these transformations are positive, to use this crisis as an opportunity to create a more resilient, stable, and equitable world. We have the chance to hit reset.

The key message here is: The coronavirus pandemic affords us the opportunity to create a better society.

Humans have experienced pandemics before. In the fourteenth century, the Black Death killed as much as a third of Europe’s population. Inevitably, this enormous death toll had a transformative effect – it marked an end to feudalism and the beginning of the Enlightenment. Other pandemics in history have also led to societal change.

Of course, the modern world is very different from the Middle Ages. When considering the effects that the pandemic will have, three aspects of the modern world are especially worthy of our attention: interdependence, velocity, and complexity.

Let’s start with interdependence. Thanks to global trade and the rise of the internet, different countries, and therefore different communities and economies, are more closely connected today than ever before. They’re also more dependent on each other. This interdependence means that no single risk exists in isolation – it has a knock-on effect around the globe. Think of the impact of a lack of action on climate change. That won’t just lead to extreme weather and a loss of biodiversity; it will also have ramifications for migration, the global food supply chain, and global governance.

Velocity is also a particularly modern concern. At fast-food restaurants, we expect immediate service. On dating apps, we expect instant matches. And, of course, on the internet, we expect to be able to access everything instantaneously. Not to mention next- or same-day delivery options, which rely on high-speed just-in-time supply chains.

Finally, it’s vital to consider the modern world’s complexity. So many different yet interdependent factors influence what will happen next, making it all but impossible to predict what the next global crisis will be. The coronavirus pandemic is far from the first fiasco to catch us off guard. The 2008 financial crisis found us similarly unprepared.

As we consider the varied ways in which the pandemic will change the world, it’s worth keeping those three elements in mind – interdependence, velocity, and complexity. They’re the forces that shape the particular world we live in today.

The economic consequences of the pandemic will be deep and long-lasting.

In the next five blinks, we’ll look at the pandemic from five perspectives: economic, societal, geopolitical, environmental, and technological. Once we consider how it’ll affect these areas of life, we’ll examine its effect on businesses and individuals.

Let’s begin with economics. Previous pandemics have inevitably led to a complete reset of countries’ economies – and this one is unlikely to be any different, given the enormous economic impact it’s already had.

Post-pandemic, the role of governments in society will probably increase.

The precise way that the pandemic will transform society isn’t yet clear, but the authors make one prediction with confidence. The coronavirus pandemic could well signal the beginning of the end of neoliberalism – the political creed that favors competition, and aims to reduce government intervention and social welfare.

Why? Well, ask yourself: Which countries have managed the pandemic well? Which haven’t? When the authors wrote their report, in June 2020, the answer seemed clear: the best performing countries were well prepared and placed a high value on trust and solidarity. Think Singapore and South Korea. The worst performing countries were the most stridently neoliberal. Think the United States and the United Kingdom.

A difficult time for geopolitics lies ahead.

We were already living through a time of turbulent geopolitics before the pandemic hit, with the power of China rivaling that of the United States, and nationalism on the rise around the world.

It seems likely that things will only get more turbulent. Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, has even talked of a period of “anarchy” following the pandemic. With neither the US nor China holding a dominant position, the world will lack a single global superpower.

The pandemic could lead to positive environmental change.

The coronavirus pandemic was a shock, but it wasn’t unforeseeable. In the last 50 years, there has been a fourfold increase in diseases passed from animals to humans. Major reasons for this include deforestation and the general loss of biodiversity as a result of human activity.

Another problem that has emerged during the pandemic is that air pollution has made the impact of the virus worse. Take the example of Lombardy. It’s one of the most polluted areas in Europe, and in mid-2020 its fatalities from COVID-19 were twice as high as elsewhere in Italy.

In the wake of the pandemic, technological innovation has gone into overdrive.

While the pandemic has certainly caused its own set of problems, in many respects it’s simply accelerated changes and trends that were already happening. And nowhere is that more apparent than with respect to technology.

What Klaus Schwab, one of the authors, calls the Fourth Industrial Revolution is well underway. Prior to the pandemic, that revolution was advancing apace, pushed forward by innovations in artificial intelligence, automation, biotechnology, and many other technological fields. Now it’s moving even faster.

The coronavirus pandemic means lasting change for business and industry.

So far, we’ve considered the changes that will come about on a macro scale – looking at global society as a whole. Now it’s time to look at the micro level, by considering the specific changes that business and industry will face in the years ahead.

Many leaders will want to return to the status quo as soon as possible, falling back on a system that worked for them in the past. But here’s the tough reality: that’s impossible. There’s no longer a “business as usual” to return to.

There’s a chance that individual resets might make each of us more compassionate.

In the early days of the pandemic, communities in Italy made headlines around the world for the solidarity and kindness that they showed to each other – singing to each other from their balconies, for instance, and celebrating health workers every evening.

The question that remains is: Is such behavior temporary, confined to this time of crisis? Or might it actually cause us to become more compassionate long-term?

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What is COVID-19: The Great Reset about?

What’s it about?

COVID-19: The Great Reset (2020) is a compendium of predictions and prognoses. It offers forecasts for how the global economy may change in the wake of the coronavirus crisis – as well as suggestions for how it should change.

COVID-19: The Great Reset Review

Covid 19 The Great Reset (2020) provides an in-depth analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching consequences. Here's why this book is essential reading:

It delves into the economic, social, and political repercussions of the pandemic, shedding light on the challenges we face.
The book offers a comprehensive understanding of the transformative potential of this crisis for a more sustainable future.
It encourages readers to reflect on the opportunities for positive change that can arise from adversity.

Don't miss the chance to explore the possibilities of a post-pandemic world with Covid 19 The Great Reset.

Who should read COVID-19: The Great Reset?

Who’s it for?

Economics enthusiasts wondering what’s going to happen next
Students of international relations grappling with the big questions of today
Anyone attempting to come to terms with the pandemic

About the Author

About the author

Professor Klaus Schwab is Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, an international nongovernmental organization based in Geneva. His previous books include The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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Economics Politics Society & Culture

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