564 the crash-ish

So, this whole blog began with the covid lockdown. It's nearly three years later, what happened?

Talking with my brother-in-law's brother, who must have some sort of official "relative" designation but I'm unsure what it is, but more importantly is a PhD candidate in political science or international relations or some such closely aligned expertise, in addition to a retired army colonel, I asked, what gamesmanship was behind different countries actions during the pandemic.

Specifically, I wanted to know if he thought the US got played by China. He didn't think so. He thought the reactions to this health crisis were genuine. Yes, some people made themselves rich feeding at the trough of government bailouts, but there was no nefarious  plan to, say, take down the dollar as the international reserve currency.

He's probably right. We tend to see conspiracy in dumb luck. But I'm still puzzling over a few things. 

Clearly China used covid to flex it's authoritarian power, locking people into their homes and forcing quarantine. The Zero Covid policy also clearly rippled through the global economy, with chip shortages and whatnot.

Then there is the US response, which was panic. But also, bureaucracy. And perhaps a fair amount of glee on the part of sane, sober instituionalists who saw a monster that even our boogeyman-in-chief feared. This accused "deep state" put the brakes on the economy, at which pretty much every politician said, oh shit, and turned into a socialist. The money flew out the door, trying to keep the game going for at least the rest of their watch.

Now, two years into the standard right-wing "end-of-administration crash the economy and blame the libtards" playbook, here we are.

The definitive history of this moment is far, far from written. In the short term, we're going to get lots of finger pointing. In the mid-term, there will be whitewashing and obfuscating. In the long term, the victor will get the spoils and write the history books. But what really happened? What results are we going to see, short term, mid-term, and long term?

In the US, younger people living with their parents. A recession. Protectionism. Tech layoffs. Inflation. A one-term president. A culture war over healthcare. 

And also, the death of commuting. A few pedestrian zones. A collective memory of a peaceful, quiet time. The sense that the mad rush really is mad. 

What do you think? What changes are you seeing, locally and globally?