Covid-19 can turn the tide of political selfishness

The coronavirus carries a number of lessons about our global connecteness. Are we ready to learn them?

Neighbours talk out of their windows in Rome. “If my neighbour has a problem, it is also my problem. So, if I do not care for the sake of my neighbour, I’d better care for my own sake.” Picture: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

As of just a few weeks ago, nobody would have disputed that the most relevant and evident trend in the global politics of our times was “go national”. Unilateralism and zero-sum-game logic seemed to be the new normal: “For me to win, I need you to lose” and “Me first.”

These phrases seemed to be the unequivocal and almost uncontested trademark of this century. Moreover, it was a trademark that had almost no limits in ...