This is a clear demonstration of solidarity, illustrated here by consumption patterns but which has also been witnessed in many other sectors. Companies have made generous donations to hospitals, governments across the world have provided many financial support packages and people have been sewing masks for their community. In short, everywhere, bonds have been rebuilt, highlighted by the wave of clapping that has spread across Europe as people come outside to applaud healthcare workers.
The economy has slowed down as a direct result of the lockdown, causing significant ramifications. It does however mean that alternative assets will be strengthened and it will be a time to reconsider the market as it was before the pandemic. Each crisis allows a certain amount of introspection, that will see the emergence of new habits and new behaviours for a more resilient approach to our society, one that aims to be more united.
Refocusing on the essential
The health crisis has seen the resurgence of certain "essentialist" behaviours, thus upsetting the order of priorities in an emergency context. Preserving lives, containing the pandemic, finding a cure, ensuring the production and delivery of basic necessities. The sociologist Émile Durkheim set this out at the end of the 19th century in his collection “De la division du travail social”(The Division of Labour in Society), where he referred to "organic solidarity" as a paradigm of modern societies.
Social cohesion is based on the interdependence of individuals to one another, which also promotes the division of labour and the specialisation of professions. Durkheim showed that at a certain critical peak of individualisation, society could expose itself to dysfunction because it was too "atomized" and disconnected from itself. He then prescribed a strengthening of community bodies (schools, families, administrations, companies, etc.) around values that bring together and cultivate solidarity and empathy. A form of collective intelligence in short.
In his latest statements, President Emmanuel Macron called for "decisions to break with the past" (source: leparisien.fr) in order to guarantee vital services for the nation. "What this pandemic is already revealing is that free health care without any condition of income, career or profession, our welfare state are not costs or burdens but precious goods, indispensable assets when fate strikes". The economic recovery will be dependent on consolidating the bonds of solidarity that are essential for the proper functioning of society.
Is it really possible to return to "normal"?
Civic-mindedness will be by far the most prominent form of solidarity, because it will encourage new forms of solidarity. By respecting social distancing barriers, the application of hygiene measures and tolerance towards people who are more fragile or anxious will be key in enabling us to live better together.
Normality is a very relative concept but going back to a sort of normality will once again allow us to share public spaces with others. However, it would seem that this epidemic has structurally changed our relationship to these spaces and to others. According to evolutionary theories, the animals that survive are those that adapt to a context, a shock, a danger, a systemic upheaval. This capacity has always been there in humans, learning from their mistakes, transforming and improving their lifestyles. But collaboration is also a driving force for growth and creativity.
We have during this pandemic built new behaviours that are likely to be sustainable. Questions are being asked on all levels, "How can we consume better? "because the act of buying, when we have the opportunity, is a choice that impacts an entire production chain and connects us indirectly to our peers. "How can we get around better? "How can we work better? "In short, "How can we live better?”. Whilst the existential aspect of these questions could be the subject of philosophical work, they are actually going to be key drivers for everyone as we try to get back to a new normal.
This solidarity has long been embodied in technological tools giving us access to real-time information and sharing abilities. Their presence has also been crucial during lockdown with the implementation of remote working and the keeping in contact with our loved ones. They will continue to play a role, ensuring our security, performance and socialisation.
Beyond the health and economic uncertainties, we will be led to question ourselves. "The question is how do we reinvent this model? The economic measures and aid that will be paid to companies at the end of the crisis can be a vector of transformation, and not only serve to compensate for losses in order to return to the situation before. The State is going to become an economic planner and invest hundreds of billions of euros", declared François Gemenne, member of the IPCC, for Le Point last March on the subject of the post-Covid ecological transition. A declaration applicable to all sectors and central to maintaining the dynamics of solidarity.