OPINION

Whose post-pandemic century?

Oped, Bill Emmott, Published on 05/01/2021

» In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was common to divide countries and their responses according to their political systems, with many attributing China's success in controlling the virus to its authoritarianism. As of late 2020, however, it is clear that the real dividing line is not political but geographical. Regardless of whether a country is democratic or authoritarian, an island or continental, Confucian or Buddhist, communitarian or individualistic, if it is East Asian, Southeast Asian, or Australasian, it has managed Covid-19 better than any European or North American country.