In the materials provided and discussions in the seminar in week 4, the topic that stood out to me was the possibility of plague or crisis as a tool in the progress of human society.
Mentioned in the “Plague and lethal epidemics in the pre-industrial world”, some scholars argue that the Black Death and other plagues set ‘Western Europe on a path of quicker economic development by contributing to the creation of high mortality ‘and ‘high income’.(1) The so-called ‘Golden Age of the English Labourer’ followed the series of bubonic plague and black death lasted till the early 16th century was a period of time that abrupt rise in real wages occurred(2). The rise in wages could be due to the change in the land labor ratio, where it was estimated that ‘more than 40000 (people) died during the plague’ from passages in “Anacardina espiritual”(3). This depopulation of lower-class citizens reduced the absolute obedience from peasants to their landlords, as in contrast to an abundance of labor prior to the plague, the lack of labor meant workers had more leverage in negotiating their working terms. After the plague, the wealthy put in measures that aim to return the lower class citizens to their working conditions before the plague, which sparked the various peasant revolts such as the peasant revolt in France in 1358CE. (4) While class systems and struggles are still present in society today, the peasant revolts during this period of time contributed to the decline of the feudal system. Therefore creating a paradigm shift in human society.
If there is one thing that the recent pandemic has warned us from the economic and social prospect, it is the risks that are involved in globalisation. Globalization for the past few decades has contributed enormously to the global economy and environment. Globalization includes the exchange of goods, services, national capital flows, immigration, technology across the borders. (5) Industries like the fashion industry benefited from globalisation through employing lower-wage labor in Asian countries, while the Asian countries befitted from the extra employment from western companies. Prior to the Covid Pandemic, the advance of globalisation was impacted by two events. One has been the 2008 financial crisis which leads the world into ‘slowbalisation’. Following the financial crisis, a group of populist leaders was chosen and championed nationalism by creating policies that produced negative impacts on globalisation. (6) The trade war between America and China is one of the most well-known examples in this period of time. Then the pandemic hit in late 2019, where countries and multinational business worldwide was hit by the disruptions in the production and posting process of supplies from Asian countries. This disruption further enhanced the risks of globalisation and an era of ‘de – globalisation’ is to be expected in the Post-Covid era, symbolising a paradigm shift in society.
Although not all crisis will produce distinguish impacts on the human society, it is still worth analysing and considering the possible influence each crisis will create to the society.
- Alfani, Guido, and Tommy E. Murphy. “Plague and Lethal Epidemics in the Pre-Industrial World.”The Journal of Economic History 77, no. 1 (2017): 314–43. doi:10.1017/S0022050717000092.
- Munro, John H.(2004): “Before and after the Black Death: money, prices, and wages in fourteenth-century England.” Published in: New Approaches to the History of Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Selected Proceedings of Two International Conferences at The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in Copenhagen, Historisk-filosofiske Meddelser , Vol. 104, (February 2009): pp. 335-364.
- Juan Serrano de Vargas y Urena “Anacardina spiritual” Libreria anticuaria “ El Guadalhorce” 1962
- Mark, Joshua J. “Effects of the Black Death on Europe.”Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 16, 2020. https://www.ancient.eu/article/1543/
- Antras pol. “ De-Globalisation? Global Value Chains in the Post Covid – 19 Age” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, No.28115,November 2020, http://www.nber.org/papers/w281156.
- CNBC “ Is Globalization Over? | What’s Next For The U.S. Economy” online video clip. YouTube 15 sept 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOQP-IQV21w&t=125s