WE ARE far from the end of covid-19, but it isn鈥檛 too early to begin to assess the pandemic鈥檚 likely long-term effects on society and how we should respond.
Younger people, whose education, career development and opportunities for social interaction in formative years have been most affected, are a natural focus of attention. Our special report on 鈥淕eneration Covid: What the pandemic means for young people鈥檚 futures鈥� comes on the back of an exclusive survey New Scientist conducted with a team at King鈥檚 College London. It represents an attempt to marry the best of recent research with some hard data on how the pandemic has affected all generations 鈥� and how they themselves view their future prospects.
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Covid-19 may well turn out to be a generation-defining event. If so, it is because it has laid bare and amplified not just the pre-existing inequalities between generations, but those within them, too. Take one stark figure: in the first lockdown in the UK, 74 per cent of privately educated students received a full online education; for state schools, the figure was half that.
That is bad for the pupils involved and bad for society as well. We need some big thinking from politicians. Investment in a more equitable, sustainable future, one that prioritises long-term growth, must be emphasised over and above getting back to pre-pandemic 鈥渂usiness as usual鈥�.
鈥淐ovid-19 has amplified the inequalities not just between generations, but within them鈥�
This isn鈥檛 just about tackling inequality in educational, career or housing prospects. One very real danger is that the pressing need to invest in environmental sustainability will be knocked back by short-sighted thinking that prioritises more 鈥渋mmediate鈥� concerns.
There, our survey results provide food for thought. Some six in 10 people across all generations in the UK believe action is needed to reduce income inequalities. Around 70 per cent, meanwhile, believe that climate change, biodiversity loss and other environmental issues are big enough problems to justify changes to our lifestyles. 午夜福利1000集合y majorities across all generations in the US agree on that.
Of course, when confronted with the reality of specific, and perhaps hard, choices, opinions may differ. But a plan to build back better isn鈥檛 just needed: it might prove popular, too.
