Pandemic Fallout: Unmasking Ethical Failures

According to the WHO, the COVID pandemic killed almost seven million people. The full bill was undoubtedly far greater, not only in terms of lives lost, but of liberties suspended, economies disrupted, educations interrupted, economic development foregone. All in all, the pandemic was one of the blackest swans to have landed in the global pond in a long time.

It was also a colossal ethical failure. Remember "We are all in this together?” Well, we weren’t. Although the pandemic was a global problem that obviously demanded a global solution, nationalism and self-interest triumphed as most high-income countries privileged self-defense over global security.

Why? Why didn't ethics come into play? Did the United States and other rich countries really think they could self-distance from the rest of an infected planet? What does that say about the likely response to other global problems, starting with climate??

Dr. Ruth Faden, an American scientist, academic and ethicist who has spent years thinking about human rights, ethics and justice and was deeply involved in trying to shape a more global, more ethical response to the pandemic. How does she explain what happened during COVID and how can we do better?

What do you think: when the next pandemic hits, do you want your government to take care of you before it thinks about people in other countries who might be more vulnerable than you?