Covid and war sees us heading on a course for 21st century fascism

China’s poor management of Covid-19 and Russia’s war against Ukraine are two global cataclysms beyond our control, creating ripe conditions for a rise in extremist populism, writes Joseph E Stiglitz

Covid-19 continues to be a threat with new, more deadly, contagious or vaccine resistant variants. Picture: Ren Chao/Xinhua via AP

Economics has been called the dismal science, and 2023 will vindicate that moniker. We are at the mercy of two cataclysms that are simply beyond our control.

The first is the Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to threaten us with new, more deadly, contagious, or vaccine-resistant variants. The pandemic has been managed especially poorly by China, owing mainly to its failure to inoculate its citizens with more effective (Western-made) mRNA vaccines.