#63: Lessons from Corona Crisis (PART 4)

【Life or Livelihood?】
Nearly six months have passed since the novel coronavirus suddenly changed the way we live. To our dismay, its intensity hasn’t waned even under the sunshine and humidity of the summer, elevating our devastation to 19.6 million confirmed cases and 727 thousand fatalities.
 
As each day passes by, we remind ourselves of the hope to end this inconceivable sorrow, to secure the health and life of each and every one of us. At the same time, we’re up against the urgency to protect the livelihood of each and every one of us by returning to work. It’s this dilemma that we increasingly feel the heat, everywhere.
 
Which one do we prioritize – people’s life or livelihood?
 
For us to try to solve this seemingly unsolvable puzzle, one country offers a crucial hint. That is, Sweden.
 
Unlike other European nations, Sweden was quick to adopt an unorthodox strategy of largely defying lockdowns and restrictions. Although it’s Scandinavian neighbors – Norway, Finland, and Denmark – all enforced painful lockdowns and restrictions, Sweden carried on with business as usual.
 
In all fairness, Sweden tests for the novel coronavirus on par with most other nations, as it certainly embraces the basic foundation of democracy built upon facts and disclosure. As such, Sweden has tested approximately 6% of its total population, compared to Norway 8%, Finland 7%, and Denmark 28%  – the most among developed nations. The US is at 18%, and Japan is by far the least among developed nations at less than 1%.
 
Despite all four Scandinavian nations are solid in testing, the positivity rate per test is an alarming 14% for Sweden, compared to 1 to 2% for its three neighbors. What’s more, the fatality per a million people is a devastating 563 thousand for Sweden, compared to Norway 48 thousand, Finland 60 thousand, and Denmark 106 thousand.
 
What these facts clearly indicate is that the risk of infection and death from this virus stands at nearly 5 to 14 times in Sweden who carried on with business as usual, compared to its three neighbors who enforced painful lockdowns and restrictions.
 
Which takes us back to the dilemma addressed earlier: Which one do we prioritize – people’s life or livelihood?
 
Compared to its neighbors, Sweden absolutely paid a huge sacrifice in people’s life. In exchange for that sacrifice, were people’s livelihoods saved? That is, did Sweden’s economy prosper well beyond its neighbors to more than make up for the 5 to 14 times in infection and death rates?
 
The terrible truth is that it didn’t. In fact, Sweden’s economy and livelihood suffered nearly as much damage from the pandemic as its neighboring countries.
 
The facts speak for themselves. As of June, the unemployment rate in Sweden stood at 9%, Norway 5%, Finland 7%, and Denmark 6%. Furthermore, the 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to contract in Sweden by 5%, Norway 6%, Finland 6%, and Denmark 5%.
 
What these figures tell us is the troubling truth that Sweden suffered nearly as much damage in its economy and livelihood despite sacrificing a great many lives. And this teaches us that people’s life and livelihood aren’t a dilemma after all, but are one and together.
 
It’s because our global economy and supply chain are all connected together in a web. Even if one nation elects to defy lockdowns and restrictions, the fact of the matter is that we’re all in it together. Despite forcing the domestic economy to open up, the domestic businesses are stuck with the same conditions that cause recession everywhere else. Likewise, the domestic manufacturing sector is just as crippled when everyone else shuts down.
 
And naturally, even in the absence of lockdowns and restrictions, people will likely go out less and limit their spending when they don’t feel safe. As such, our livelihood can’t be sustained by going it alone. Our own domestic consumption and manufacturing can’t carry the entire weight – we all need the global cooperation to support one another.
 
Sweden, indeed, offers us this crucial hint. In our connected world where we’re all in it together, the supposed choice between people’s life and livelihood is mistaken. It’s because there’s no livelihood that can more than make up for the devastating loss of life.

Read Previous: Lessons from Corona Crisis (3)【Global Warming】
 
Complete Series: Lessons from Corona Crisis (1)～(4)
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