Two links that are the most impactful Covid-19 thinking I have come across. Both from April, both from the minds of Big Tech titans, and both before the full tragedy and the catalyzing social effects would come into focus.

The first is the opening 10 minutes of Eric Weinstein’s podcast The Portal, Episode 31 with Ryan Holiday. In it Weinstein paraphrases a recent conversation with his wife, a notable economist. In the recounting, she is explaining to him how Covid-19 represents every aspect of the future, a sweeping statement by any measure. But any skepticism you may harbor is immediately overcome by Weinstein’s profound stream of inter-related issues stemming from this pandemic. Take a listen here:

The Portal, Episode 31 – Ryan Holiday

It’s an amazing summary, though it obviously excludes the activism in recent weeks after the murder of George Floyd. The final minute hypothesizes that it didn’t have to be Covid-19, but any sufficient global crisis would have highlighted how interconnected all of these current issues are. It’s a tantalizing thought.

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The second link comes from Marc Andreesson. It’s an American call to arms and I’ll let it speak for itself. MA’s essay also excludes notions of social or racial reckoning as a form of building, but I feel comfortable enfolding that goal into his larger message. One of the miraculous outcomes from the recent social justice protests is large support for re-imagining entire social structures.

IT’S TIME TO BUILD

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On culture and history, one of my most over used metaphors is to describe the object or event as a prism through which the refracted light of the world is able to be seen (almost always I am listing a specific idea or theme that is being refracted, I tend to abstain from saying phrases like “the light of the world”, but I digress). What is the angle of the light; which focal lengths and materials were used; who crafted the prism; where do you stand in relation – all integral questions that frame any understanding.

I am conditioned to see more or less of the world given the size and magnification of any single prism. I tend to see less through the pin hole of a single painting than I do from a film, though both encode meaning that extends beyond their respective frames. What I believe Weinstein was getting at above is that Covid-19 represents a massive prism. As the virus continues to roil this country, and now much of the developing world, we should remember that this is not normal, this is extraordinary. Our collective understanding and response to this event should match the scale.

The newest Bangkok Dispatch from the Times by Hannah Beech. Excellent photos and summary of the unique fruits Thailand exports to the region. This is controversial to many close to me, but I am a huge fan of the durian along with most of the other fruits profiled here:

Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward (NYT)

I particularly appreciate the theme of hardship embodied by these fruits and the Thais who harvest, supply and enjoy them. My narrow perception of Bangkok is that it is a city convulsing with political, social and economic violence that seemingly everyone pretends is normal. Not unlike the heat there, it’s too overwhelming to ignore but simultaneously too omnipresent to feel like you have anything novel to say about it. It’s just the way it is, you hydrate and move along.

Focused culture pieces like this one cut through that overbearing haze and locate the humanity within.

For another great example, check out Beech’s recent piece on Spirit Houses (NYT), an unique aspect to Bangkok’s topography and a different perspective on violence. Even better photos in that one, especially the final shot.

I highly recommend this article on the end of Engagement with China by Orville Schell.

Engagement Post-Mortem

I found the section on Hu Jintao (and Bush) to be particularly noteworthy. The standard story tends to be that Hu and Wen Jiabao were ultimately seen within the Party as too passive when it came to international engagement and too focused on rural development. The result was an enlarged conservative block as more cadres started getting anxious (and very rich) and they pivoted back to the more hardline Xi. Schell traces a different story re-characterizing the passivity of Hu and Wen as evidence of general Party inattentiveness. He locates this period as the primary root of the death of engagement. It’s compelling stuff.

I also found Schell’s descriptions of the remarkable continuities and ingenuities of subsequent American administrations in the final section to be quite thought-provoking.