Going Viral

I am out of my area of expertise in speaking of the COVID-19 outbreak. I can only rely on the news reports. And even the experts probably have little to go on.

But I can at least speculate on the psychological effects.

The authorities in Hubei have now banned all vehicular traffic. Streetlights have all been shut off to discourage people from leaving their homes. Eighty percent of international air traffic to China has been suspended. Russian TV reports that the Chinese government has been intervening in the stock market, buying up stocks to prevent a collapse.

Inside China, it could go either way: either the people rise up against the government, or they are cowed by the government’s show of strength against the virus.

Outside China, this has to hurt the China brand. China is bound to have an economic slump, even if the rest of the world does not.

But globalism and globalization in general will probably also be hit. People in the developed world were already getting fractious about all the immigration and all the foreign influence. This now gives them a graphic image and a further powerful argument: foreigners and growing foreign contacts spread disease. There are apparently very practical reasons for nations to have borders and the ability to close them in an emergency.

I am a globalist. I do not say this with joy.