The coronavirus has had a far-reaching impact on society. Even today, several months after Japan lifted its state of emergency, it remains difficult to envision the ultimate ramifications of the pandemic. There is mounting criticism of capitalist economies that naively pursue growth at any cost and ignore the finite nature of the natural environment, and there is also a growing awareness of the importance of sustainability. On the conceptual line stretching from liberalism to authoritarianism, more are starting to seek an emphasis on public welfare over individual freedoms. Conceptual pairs like “growth vs. sustainability” and “liberalism vs. authoritarianism” are increasingly presented as binary opposites, with a growing sense that the coronavirus has flipped the switch from the former to the latter.
