Distinguished Professor Dr. Ali Riaz has published a commentary highlighting the lessons learned from the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In the commentary titled “Five Obvious Lessons from COVID-19,” Riaz identified lessons for economic, political, and social arenas. He writes, COVID-19 has already changed the world, and its consequences will be felt in our social lives, economy, and global political landscape.
The five lessons are the following. First, state-centric security paradigm is inadequate in saving lives; it’s time to adopt a more human security approach. Second, globalization needs a reset. It can’t sustain the current nature, neither can it be discarded. Thirdly, the GDP-centric obsession with development idea has contributed to the decimation of nature. Fourthly, neoliberal economic policies have created a permanent underclass, members of which are bearing the brunt of the economic catastrophe. Finally, transparency in governance has an immense importance in protecting lives beyond the national borders. He argued that the lack of transparency of the Chinese government in the early stage of the pandemic has contributed to its spread.
