Our world is in a state of unprecedented lockdown. A tiny virus, invisible to the naked eye, has impacted humanity in a manner unknown to generations. While disasters, wars and diseases are not new to us, COVID-19 has a spread and impact so wide that it has united countries and continents for a common cause like never before in our living memory.
The virus has pitched its flag on a territory larger than that held by the mightiest kings in human history and its writ has changed life everywhere from the crafted lanes of Paris to the enterprising streets of Mumbai. Millions of articles, papers, commentaries and WhatsApp messages inform and advise us on what COVID-19 means, how to beat it and how to lead our lives in the present times. Nothing else matters as the virus has so very seamlessly and rapidly entered our minds and way of life.
Experts debate how the virus will impact economies and businesses and many present a worrying scenario. Manufacturing is hit, trade and commerce has come to a halt, daily-wage earners, professionals, taxi operators, hotels and tourism industry, small and big shop keepers, service providers and even beggars — all are feeling the squeeze unleashed by the spreading virus. The impact varies from country to country — some have been assaulted badly while others are mindful of what might be in store. What worries is that the journey of COVID-19 into humanity’s personal space has perhaps just begun, even as efforts to defeat the virus carry on in research labs around the world.
There is little doubt that we humans shall eventually succeed and beat this virus to resume life as we know it. Many see a silver lining and count on the virus to yield some worthy positive externalities: greater sensitivity towards mother nature, stronger bonds with our loved ones, sense of gratitude for what we have. Well-meaning Facebook posts by self-styled philosophers claim that the virus has tamed the wild human ego, made us aware of our mortality and it is exhorting the earth’s most powerful species to slow down.
The virus, it is argued will make us reflect upon some fundamental and universal truths; these are truths about our impermanence, our fragility and our oneness with nature and other beings. As compelling and intuitive as it may sound, will such a prognosis for the human race mellowing and slowing down materialise in reality?
If this happens, it would mean that, we the human beings will temper our needs and consumption, reassess our money-making urges and shun the environment-damaging materialism as a way of life. Instead, we will cherish and focus on what we already have — our families and relations, community and social bonds, nature’s bounty and our beautiful planet. We can try to peep into the crystal ball based on the evidence we have on the platter.
Disasters and catastrophes that bring death and destruction make us aware of our impending mortality and reflect on our ways of being. If you have ever been to a crematorium following the death of your family member or a friend, you will probably recall how that experience revealed death to you as something imminent and real in a clear, stark manner. Perhaps, for some moments or more, it had made you realise how the quest for worldly success, material accumulation and wealth is eventually a meaningless one. Similar realisations also confront us when we experience more global and collective setbacks.
Take for instance, the 9/11 terror attacks that had stunned the world into disbelief. In particular, they shook millions of Americans who experienced existential threat and thoughts of death like never before. In the days that followed, attendance at Churches rose and people sought comfort in the safety of relationships and community. But did it slow down the American Dream premised in material success and the desire to have it all?
A month after the disaster, President George W. Bush while addressing the nation asked Americans to conduct business as usual and to go out shopping. And indeed they did. Consumption soared in the US in the following months with homes and cars being bought in record quantities and there was a rise in demand for appliances, electronics and so on.
Psychologists believe that the salience of their mortality and the existential anxiety it engenders motivates people to fill their life with meaning and derive self-esteem from their deep-rooted cultural beliefs about the nature of reality. And because materialistic consumption was a dominant cultural value for many Americans and a key ingredient of their worldview, they drew self-esteem and meaning in consumption which became a tool to mitigate their existential threats.
Research by consumer psychologists have shown that thoughts of one’s death and mortality results in positive attitude for luxury products and impulsive buying. Admittedly, most such findings emerge from studies in western countries and arguably the world of the orient is still a different one. We in India, for instance, claim to possess a spiritual focus so that our cultural values are not centred on consumerism and materialism.
Let us stay with India and the psychological impact of COVID-19 in an era of 24X7 coverage from across the world: would this virus make our mortality salient to us and spur us away from material goals towards more spiritual ones? Or, would we Indians indulge ourselves and shop our way out of our anxieties?
Personally, even the grief, salience of my mortality and worldly detachment caused by loss of my dear relatives and friends, had at best, kept me away from the shopping malls for just a few days. It did not result in me buying any less than before though I simply don’t remember if I bought any more. My best guess is that because we humans are hard-wired to focus only on imminent threats, it will be difficult for a death reminder or a grave threat gone-by alone to fundamentally change our way of life beyond a short time span.
In other words, we will most likely, remain as materialistic and as spiritual as we already are. Yes, there may be learnings that will make us wiser; in what ways, for how long and to what end, is a matter of conjecture. But with the virus looming large, let this be a last thing to worry about in these peculiar times. Rest assured, we will get all the answers when COVID-19 is finally defeated, hopefully much sooner than we can imagine.
-Nimish Rustagi has a PhD in Marketing from HEC Paris. He is a civil servant and the views expressed are personal.
