Due to the economic development of modernity and globalization current world population is highly urbanized, concentrated, and has increased capability in terms of geographical mobility. Current demographic condition facilitates the outbreak of diseases and contributes to their fast and global dissemination. Consequently, the case of COVID19 demonstrated to what extent such developments may affect the realities of the contemporary world. The pandemic in the shape of COVID19 revealed extensive vulnerabilities within the healthcare, economic, and social sectors. Numerous businesses were forced to stop their production cycles, conventional working, and educational practices were replaced with digital alternatives. The pandemic caused worldwide economic depression, demonstrated adverse effects on aggregate demand for commodities, and raised new discourse on account of human rights and social justice.
On the accounts of social justice, the pandemic contributed to the negative perception of older adults, which manifested itself in the form of ageism. Ageism refers to the discrimination, stereotypical prejudice towards people based on their age (Fraser et al., 2020). This form of discrimination is part of the current western realities, where the perception of older people is often mixed with false beliefs (Fraser et al., 2020). The pandemic has fortified the exclusion and prejudice directed towards older adults, especially with the introduction of the vulgar hashtag #BoomerRemover (Fraser et al., 2020). Consequently, the attitudes formed along this phenomenon include the perception of high mortality rates among older generations as the normal and inevitable outcome (Fraser et al., 2020). It is evident that the value of older people and their lives to society is questioned. This could be considered as the negative and vulgar development of human society.
The pandemic also raised the question of human liberty due to the introduction of restrictive measures enforced by the government. It is well-known that excessive liberty may threaten the stability of society and economic welfare. Therefore, the determination of the appropriate extent of personal liberty is the task that needs to be addressed by the government, especially during a pandemic. Some restrictions during COVID19, such as mask-wearing in crowded areas, are relatively low cost and provide considerable social benefits (Tisdell, 2020). On the other hand, lockdowns which restrict the available geographic mobility are difficult to justify (Tisdell, 2020). Moreover, these restrictions result in heavy economic burdens of low-income countries such as India, where numerous households’ survival is dependent on the work, which may be unavailable because of such control measures (Tisdell, 2020). As a result, it is evident that the freedom of choice – a basic human right is being threatened by the pandemic.
Nevertheless, economic implications related to the closure of workplaces and lockdowns are adverse. COVID19 made numerous businesses vulnerable to commercial losses as the central sectors of entertainment, tourism, and religion were closed, and markets suffered significant damages. According to World Bank (2021), global growth is expected to accelerate to 5.6% in 2021, mainly due to the efforts of the US and China. Nevertheless, the impact of the pandemic is apparent as global GDP is forecasted to be lower by 3.2% in comparison to the pre-pandemic projections (World Bank, 2021). Simultaneously, per capita GDP would not reach the previous peaks for an extended period. The recovery of numerous countries is restricted by the reoccurrences of COVID19, uneven progress in vaccination, and lowered economic support from the governments (World Bank, 2021). The legacy of the pandemic in the face of skill erosion due to the abstention from work and proper education, a sharp reduction of investments and debt will dampen the economy of developing countries for a prolonged period (World Bank, 2021). However, the scope of the damages incurred is not limited to the reduction of economic growth.
The consequences of the pandemic on the low-income households and poverty, in general, were dreadful. The people living in poverty were the most vulnerable part of the population. The decades of continuous work to reduce poverty for the first time experienced a reversal in the outcome. The analysis of the current estimations demonstrates that pandemic rendered at least 88 million people as part of those living in extreme poverty (Blake & Wadhwa, 2020). In contrast, the worst-case estimations are on the level of 115 million (Blake & Wadhwa, 2020). According to the World Bank Group, primarily, the “new poor” are expected to be from the regions of Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (Blake & Wadhwa, 2020). Possibly, these people might be engaged in construction work, manufacturing, and informal services – the areas greatly affected by the restriction measures (Blake & Wadhwa, 2020). It is evident that the effect of the pandemic on this segment of the population is deleterious.
In conclusion, the effects of the pandemic spammed vast areas of social and economic sectors in addition to the damaged healthcare. The discourses in social spheres revolved around the increased discrimination towards the aged population and restriction measures that limited human freedom to a large extent. Simultaneously, the economy of numerous countries suffered great damages that resulted in a reduction of global economic growth that would need a long period of recovery to reach the pre-pandemic estimations. Moreover, pandemics increased the number of people living in extreme poverty by a baseline margin of 88 million people. These facts confirm the dreadfulness of the COVID19 pandemic and its vast socio-economic implications.
References
Blake, P., & Wadhwa, D. 2020 year in review: The impact of COVID-19 in 12 charts. World Bank Blogs. Web.
Fraser, S., LagacĂ©, M., BonguĂ©, B., Ndeye, N., Guyot, J., Bechard, L.,… & Tougas, F. (2020). Ageism and COVID-19: What does our society’s response say about us? Age and Ageing, 49(5), 692-695, Web.
Tisdell, C. A. (2020). Economic, social and political issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic Analysis and Policy, 68, 17-28, Web.
World Bank. (2021). Global economic prospects: The global economy: On track for strong but uneven growth as covid-19 still weighs. World Bank. Web.