Discussion

Your exam question asks you to discuss whether a pandemic can have positive consequences. You should use Sam Anderson’s article “The Truth About Cocoons” and the video “Effects of Covid-19” as sources of inspiration.

When he discusses the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam Anderson adopts a realistic perspective and focuses on all the hardships people have been going through as a result of the pandemic. However, he also presents a positive outcome that he says gives him hope for the future: 

Let’s not forget that in our horrendous confusion – in spite of it, because of it – we managed to do something amazing. We chose to go dormant. We changed almost everything in the world, almost overnight. This required a kind of collective action that, frankly would have struck me as impossible five months ago. (…) Enough of us have found enough reasons to change, and it has made an actual difference. We are in the middle of creating whatever t...