Covid-19 has brought science and interdependence back centre-stage, but global solidarity needs to step up if the war is to be won, Professor Robert Patman says.
The University of Otago international affairs specialist, speaking by video link, made the comments to Global Insight’s Bruce Munro on the first day of New Zealand’s four-week lockdown.
Watch full video here:
Related Stories
Comments
We ignored science and logic, and now we're paying for it.
When this is all over, we may need to reconsider our lack of care and money spent on R&D, health, basic infrastructure (I'm talking sewerage, road surfacing and footpaths, and not ping pong tables in the Octagon!) and New Zealand-based manufacturing.
We certainly need to reconsider the ideology of a "borderless world". It's frightening how fast this virus has travelled! We should be thankful that this virus "only" kills 1-2% of the infected. Imagine what it might have been had those figures been different! We've escaped the axe this time.
We need to bring back local manufacture, in particular, of vital medicines and medical equipment, so we're never caught short again.
Most of all, we need to end this reliance on foreign countries for our economy. We should be reliant on no one but ourselves.
I have to admit, Trump's talk of border control, US-based manufacture, national independence, reduced globalism and reduced reliance on China seems almost magically prescient now, doesn't it!
National borders, without Nationalism.
