How will coronavirus change the world?

Coronavirus will increase isolationism and nationalism

Question: How will coronavirus change the world?
Position1 of 5›: Coronavirus will impact global politics
Argument‹2 of 7›: Coronavirus will increase isolationism and nationalism

The spread of coronavirus demonstrates the failings of globalisation - travel spread the virus, and our supply chains broke down as a result of lockdown. It will lead to a resurgence of isolationism and nationalism.

The argument

Coronavirus has highlighted the perils of hyper-connectness in the modern age. We now have such inter-connected societies that viruses rapidly spread worldwide and trouble in one nations economy cause global crisis. Having different societies be so tightly interlinked means that knock-on effects are serious. The epidemic highlights all of the issues with globalisation, and governments will not ignore this. In response, countries are likely to retreat into narratives of isolationism and nationalism, as they did before free trade was the law of the land. By seeking protection and retreating into their own nations, people will be far better protected for the next time a global disaster inevitably strikes.

Premises

[P1]The pandemic exposed the perils of hyper-connectedness: tightly interlinked societies allow a virus, or trouble in one nation's economy, to rapidly become a global crisis with serious knock-on effects. [P2] Because the epidemic highlighted the vulnerabilities of globalisation, governments are likely to retreat into isolationism and nationalism, seeking to protect their own populations against the next global disaster. [C] On this reasoning, coronavirus will increase isolationism and nationalism, reshaping global politics.

Counter-arguments

Retreating into protectionism is counter-productive. Instead, nations need to work together to increase levels of global co-operation. In doing so, there can be a global push towards altering, rather than getting rid of, globalisation. This would involve the use of global "circuit breakers" that could prevent a disaster like the coronavirus outbreak from happening again.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] The virus will be seen as a chance to improve, not get rid of, global cooperation.