Four Pieces from the International Press (one not about COVID-19)

Dogan and Pelassy argued that without the methodology of comparison, to systematically evaluate, we are blind to understanding what we are doing and how well we are doing it. They compare people who do not practice comparison to the blind men and the elephant. There are several great reads about the impacts of the pandemic on politics and the world this week from the international press that are worth considering:

·         Adam Tooze takes an in-depth look at the pandemic and the effect on the world economy, arguing that the three hubs of production (the United States, China and Europe) each have significant problems to overcome to recover from the global crisis. Political and economic realities will be significant obstacles in the recovery. This will have a tremendous effect on the rest of the world as well.

·        Commenting in Deutsche Welle, IIvaylo Ditchev argues that COVID-19 is straining relations in Europe, not just between countries, but also between generations and classes. He points out that there has been a tendency to practice scapegoating, and richer countries have benefited from the brain drain from poorer countries during the crisis.

·         Meanwhile, on the BBC’s website, Jessica Lussenhop provides a harrowing detailed account of the biggest outbreak in the United States at a single location thus far: the 644 confirmed cases (as of 15 April) at the pork-packing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

For those of you who have grown weary of the pandemic coverage (and understandably so), a totally offbeat article:

·         The Irish Times is covering the creation of a new font / typeface based on the cultural heritage of County Galway, which has been designated the European Capital of Culture for 2020. The new font, Gaillimh, has not yet appeared in my choices in Microsoft Word, but I am hopeful.