The most important message the coronavirus offers is that the natural world is conspiring to save us from ourselves, to slow our materialistic greed and rein in our aggressive, self-centered, short-term, and xenophobic tendencies. In John Perkins new book “Touching the Jaguar,” he writes about the failures of the current economic system – the Death Economy. This virus, like the hurricanes, fires, tornadoes and other “once in a hundred years events” that happen every year or so is one more indication that we must transform the Death Economy into a Life Economy. Making the transition requires that we move from a goal of maximizing short-term profits for the few, regardless of the social and environment costs, to a goal of maximizing long-term benefits for all – people and nature. 

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