Business in Times of Corona

Ten weeks ago, CFI.co published a series of five reports on the portent of a novel economic event. Some 70,000 words later, that event has become – not arguably, but factually – the most significant news story of our lives.

The pandemic of 2020 has directly or indirectly affected all of earth’s inhabitants. A virus, unseen and barely understood, has managed to change everything. It did not usher in a new era; it gate-crashed a future not yet understood by anybody. The contours of the new normal will take time to emerge and the only certainty is that there is none.

Today, CFI.co’s Business in Times of Corona publishes its fiftieth essay in what has become a chronicle of both hope and despair – and a document of our troubled times. Conceived and named in a hurry, BiToC looks for trends, explores possibilities, consults experts, applies reasoning, traces parallels, and draws lessons for history and philosophy in order to assemble a first composite image of the post-corona world that beckons.

Contrary to popular belief, history does not repeat itself. It is a canvas painted by the hidden hand which has moved human interaction since the very beginnings of time, including all the considerations that provide our species with a reason for being – from great acts of kindness and magnanimity to petty acts of selfishness and greed. The complex yet inalterable emotional makeup of the human being is history’s only true constant – and the only compass available to plot a course forward.

It is through this lens that CFI.co observes the world, tries to understand its workings, and hopes to mine opportunity. No matter how high the despair, dire the straits, or fearsome the predicament, human ingenuity will carry the day – as it will the coming era. The world will change, but its inhabitants won’t. Some find that idea fearful, we at CFI.co derive comfort and hope from it.

See also: Corona Journal