Some say that generations are defined by the threats they faced. The lost generation lived through World War II. The baby boomers lived through post-war scarcity. Generation-X lived through the threat of nuclear annihilation. The next generation may be defined by the fear of future pandemics.
Pandemics are not new. Records extend back to at least the Antonine Plague. This killed 5m people between 165 and 180 AD. More recently, HIV/AIDS has killed an estimated 25-35m people since 1981. SARS and MERS are more recent, albeit less deadly examples. (Source - updated 24 Feb 2021)
Scientists and others warned us of the risks of pandemic. See this 2015 Ted Talk by Bill Gates, for example. Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Laurie Garrett have provided similar warnings. (Source: The Pandemic Isn’t a Black Swan but a Portent of a More Fragile Global System | The New Yorker published 21/04/2020)
Some of the risks are endemic. Others are more of our own making.
- Factory farming produces antibiotic-laden foods with fewer nutrients.
- Global travel and supply chains allow epidemics to spread more rapidly.
- Our population is ageing with fewer and fewer people dying from before they reach old age.
Out attitudes towards death are also changing. Death is no longer something we have learned we must accept. It is something that must be fought at all costs for all people.