Things are going to start changing around here

Follow Us This Pandemic Will Lead to Social Revolutions — Andreas Kluth The most misleading cliche about the coronavirus is that it treats us all the same. It doesn't, neither medically nor economically, socially or psychologically. In particular, Covid-19 exacerbates preexisting conditions of inequality wherever it arrives. Before long, this will cause social turmoil, up to and including uprisings and revolutions. Social unrest had already been increasing around the world before SARS-CoV-2 began its journey. According to one count, there have been about 100 large anti-government protests since 2017, from the gilets jaunes riots in a rich country like France to demonstrations against strongmen in poor countries such as Sudan and Bolivia. About 20 of these uprisings toppled leaders, while several were suppressed by brutal crackdowns and many others went back to simmering until the next outbreak. The immediate effect of Covid-19 is to dampen most forms of unrest, as both democratic and authoritarian governments force their populations into lockdowns, which keep people from taking to the streets or gathering in groups. But behind the doors of quarantined households, in the lengthening lines of soup kitchens, in prisons and slums and refugee camps — wherever people were hungry, sick and worried even before the outbreak — tragedy and trauma are building up. One way or another, these pressures will erupt. Read the whole thing. The Virus Should Wake Up the West — John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge Netflix Throws a Wrench in the V-Shaped Recovery — John Authers Can Trump Delay the 2020 Election? Here's What the Constitution Says — Cass R. Sunstein This Isn't the Flattened Curve We Were Promised — Cathy O'Neil Money Is Losing Its Meaning — Jared Dillian 10 Reasons to Doubt the Covid-19 Data — Cathy O'Neil Democrats Aren't Blocking Trump's Nominees — Jonathan Bernstein A 100-Year Chance to Shake Up Debt and Taxes — Andy Mukherjee Trump-Branded Stimulus Checks Aren't Worth Much — Jonathan Bernstein This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the 10 most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion published this week based on web readership, plus some other stuff sometimes thrown in.   Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022