Whatever one believes about Fidel Castro and his authoritarian regime, the response of his government was to embrace science and intelligent and pragmatic policies for recovery after an economic shock.

A chain-smoker develops pneumonia and nearly dies — and quits smoking. An alcoholic is informed by his family they’re leaving — and sobers up. It is well-recognized that a sudden, unexpected shock — frequently painful — can terminate a long and apparently unshakable pattern of self-destruction.

We cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected with the coronavirus

Now that we and the rest of Earth’s human population are faced with an utterly explicit planetary crisis, our politicians and the system they work in are mostly shying away from positive change.