The Exponent

There are a handful of moments when we feel the earth move beneath our feet. Something shifts, and we instantly grasp that there will be a clear delineation of before and after. Along with the September 11 terror attacks and the 2008 global financial crisis, the unfolding pandemic will undoubtedly stand as one of the pivotal moments of our time.

To halt the coronavirus’s rapid spread, and to give health care systems a fighting chance, governments around the world have introduced unprecedented measures that severely limit freedom of movement for billions of people. The daily toll of newly infected and dead has become a regular fixture of news reports. In Italy, where I live, the situation has been especially tragic; the country’s large elderly population is particularly vulnerable. More than 30,000 deaths had been recorded by early May, and the grim spectacle of military convoys removing coffins from Bergamo — its local cemetery now overwhelmed — will remain etched...