The coronavirus pandemic continues to attract our attention as the number of cases spikes upwards as is the number of deaths. It would appear that this second wave, which has gripped Europe, has been more like a tsunami than anything else. Japan is reporting the arrival of a third wave, which would seem to imply that after the second wave has been brought under control, there will still be further disruption down the road.

The announcement by Pfizer that it has developed a vaccine, which tests have shown to be 90 per cent effective, was welcomed by all with relief. As such, there would seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.

In previous contributions, I have commented that we will not be going back to the way we were and that a ‘new normal’ will evolve. The question that I put is: will the new normal be a better normal? I believe that, in some respects, it will be. Hence the proverbial silver lining I referred to in the title of this week’s contribution.

The coronavirus has managed to make one thing so very clear: government is not the same as business. This is something that we seem to have lost sight of in recent years. The role of government is to regulate and guide the increasingly complex social and economic landscape.

The business sector is only part of that landscape. In fact, the business sector is not even the only player in the economy as there are other equally important players such as consumers, workers and financial institutions.

Life is not all business and it is not just about money, and it is the role of governments to ensure that the new normal reflects this fully

Health, education, the social welfare system, the legal system, voluntary organisations, environment protection, the arts and infrastructure are not businesses and they are an integral part of our society. They are part of a system from which we all benefit.

The reality is that not everyone benefits from these elements, although everyone has a right to. Since we have been led to believe that the economy comes first, gradually some persons became more equal than others, as the saying goes. This happened because such persons were erroneously seen to be more economically valuable.

The new normal is expected to put the human person and the common good at the centre of political action and the economy has to play second fiddle to the well-being of the human person.

The anxiety which COVID-19 has caused from both a health perspective and from an economic perspective, and the social isolation which it has caused, has made us aware how fragile we really are. It has enabled us to understand that the axiom, promoted by certain people, that there is no such thing as society, is false. It is not the truism it was depicted to be.

The pandemic and the resulting impact have shown that the idea of small government, in its role as a regulator and in its function to address social inequalities, has not been a good idea at all and has highlighted the importance of economic and social justice. Everyone should be able to access those services and goods which students of economics refer to as public goods and merit goods.

It is up to us all to ensure that this silver lining of the coronavirus is transformed into a rainbow and to make sure that the principles of equity and solidarity become embedded in our values and behaviour.

Life is not all business and it is not just about money, and it is the role of governments to ensure that the new normal reflects this fully. The new economic normal needs to be built on work, where there is the right balance between the human person, society and the environment on one hand and fair profit on the other.