By Jim ThompsonHCP columnist

With the near worldwide shutdown of economies, we are in a monumental epoch not existent at any time since Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. For you evolutionists, let me state it another way, we are in a monumental epoch not existent since the first blob magically crawled out of the primordial soup.

Never, ever, in the entire recorded or pre-recorded history, has nearly the whole planet been economically brought to a standstill. For all intents and purposes, the world has stopped. Again, this has never happened before.

Now, due to assets, infrastructure, intellectual property and so forth, all countries are not equally at zero. Latent assets can be turned back on quickly just like a light switch brings power to bulbs-in-waiting. However, in this respect, countries can be thought of as strata on the potential economic ladder. For instance, China, Germany, South Korea, Japan and the United States might be one layer. Australia, Canada, England and France might be another layer. Then Madagascar, the Seychelles, Aruba and the Canary Islands might be a layer. These are all just examples for illustrative purposes.

On the restart, think of horse racing. Think of the Triple Crown, perhaps. In their last race, sticking with my examples, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Aruba and the Canary Islands stopped in a certain economic order. Now, during this lull, they can think about what they were doing right, what they were doing wrong, when it comes to the ways they were running their economies.

If their intellectual energy is high enough during this current time, when they come out of the gate at the new start, their economic rankings as compared to each other could be rearranged in a permanent way going forward.

Secretariat, his jockey and his trainers did not idly rest between the races of the Triple Crown. Look at his Belmont finish if you want to see a stunning performance 25 lengths ahead. I see this happening throughout the strata of comparable world economies.

There may be a new order environmentally, too. There has been much discussion of what the slowdown in economic activity has done to air pollution in New Delhi, the newfound cleanliness of the Ganges, the sudden ability to view the top of Mount Everest in Nepal and on and on.

This is the first chance ever for countries to start at a universally simultaneously paused position in their quest for progress (whatever progress is, a concept beyond the scope of this one little column).

The unintended consequences as a result of this pause are implausible. I predict in three to five years we will look back in amazement at what this event initiated throughout the world.

It is impossible to begin to predict the coming changes. We have some hints from the past.

World War I, which started with the assassination of a pompous royal, a diminutive figure on the world stage, was the fuse that lit dramatic changes for the entire 20th century worldwide. Yet, at the height of World War I, only a small fraction of the worlds human population was actually engaged in its bloody execution.

We have no idea where, right now, unknown people of extraordinary leadership ability are planning to make their moves when the economies rejuvenate. A young Hitler or a young Gandhi, or many clones of each, may be planning to make their move at the right time in the near future. The world is ripe for this.

One can say without hyperbole, this is a time like no other ever experienced. It wont be over when the pandemic is over.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.

Originally posted here:

An opportunity not seen since the Garden of Eden - The Highland County Press