I was watching an interview with a CEO of a major new company, part of the "sharing economy". Since the lockdown, the CEO's company has lost over 300 million in value. He was not one of those billionaires that is making a killing on COVID.
This CEO will be lucky if his company continues. If it does, it will be in a much different, much smaller form. Or maybe it will just disappear. Maybe it should.
The CEO in question seemed like he was in shock, or on medication, or both. But he was facing his company's predicament with clarity.
He was being honest with himself when he gave what I consider to be an essential quote of our times.
When asked when he thought things would "get back to normal" he responded by saying,
"The way we knew is over, and it's never coming back."
I think we can say that about a lot of things right now, maybe everything. And that might be a good thing.
The company in question had global effects, and not all of them were good. A recent analysis showed that "the economic costs to local communities likely outweigh the benefits".
This is true of a large amount of corporations that made up the pre-pandemic billionaire money making machine.
For the most part, corporations (and their owners) work against our best interests. It has been shown that if they were made responsible for all the damage they do, the great majority of companies would realize no profit at all.
A sense of justice would lead us to not only avoid the products from such entities, but also to honestly question whether they are worth saving in the post-pandemic world at all.
The world will be a better place without them.
No bailouts for harmful companies and practices would be a good start in that direction.
As individuals, we can boycott companies, organizations, and individuals doing harm, and buycott those that operate sustainably and ethically, while contributing toward a better world.
Cooperatives and worker owned companies may be the alternative companies that take over from the old model that concentrated wealth in individuals to the detriment of communities (the CEO I saw interviewed is hoarding over 4 billion dollars in his personal off-shore bank account).
"The way we knew is over", yes indeed, "and it's never coming back" to be sure.
That might be a good thing for all of us.
Things will never be the same and that's good in most ways. Let's hope we can move to a small more local way of life.
ReplyDeleteI fear for my country (USA) and what lies ahead in this polarizing climate of hate. But change is gonna come whether it's the change I hope for is to be seen.