Rising inflation took everyone by surprise. The U.S. inflation rate of 8.3% in April, although it represents a slowdown from previous months, is still too high to ignore. The situation is not much better in the eurozone, where inflation rose to 8.1%. Prices are rising all over the world, and no one knows how to stop them. In all likelihood, the chain reaction of price hikes will lead to several rounds of price increases, and shortages of gas, wheat, oil, semiconductors and other commodities will only make things worse. Indeed, a great cataclysm is coming.
The problem is that some products that are difficult to supply, such as semiconductors, wheat, and gas, form the backbone of the world’s industry and food production. People need wheat for almost everything they eat, and they need gasoline and computer chips for almost everything humanity produces. Consequently, their absence slows down the entire world economy and food production.
Africa and possibly much of East Asia will be the first to suffer. Billions of people will go hungry!
But hunger is only the beginning. Hungry people will stop at nothing. When entire nations starve, wars break out and conflicts become violent. A cataclysm that has just begun to develop can be worse than our worst nightmares, something we can’t even imagine. In addition to man-made disasters, natural disasters – floods and fires – will wreak havoc around the world.
The only real thing people can do is start stocking up on staple foods. However, this will not help much, because we are in for a protracted crisis that will not end quickly.
If anything can help, it’s the realization that we’re all in the same boat. The boat is currently riddled with holes and sinking fast. We can eliminate these holes if we hold hands and work together on all levels, from the personal to the international.
But cooperation requires recognition of our interdependence and, above all, trust. Without them, each country will continue to try to help only itself, and as a result the whole world ship will go down.
Moreover, if people begin to cooperate and think about the common good, not just their own, they will find that there really is no shortage of anything. Even before the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out, humanity was already throwing away at least a third of the products it produced. That tells you that there is enough food to go around! But not wanting to share them is the real reason for the hunger and all the other problems we face.
This crisis will teach us that people can only succeed if they work together for the common good. However, a fee is charged for each class. The sooner humanity learns the lesson, the lower the fee will be. But the longer it slips, the higher the toll and the more painful the lesson.
