The influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919 infected a third of the world’s population and killed 50 million people — more than the military casualties of World Wars I and II combined. But it seemed to fade quickly from collective memory, which was only revived with the arrival of our current pandemic.
“Will the covid-19 pandemic have the same fate and memory?” Rajaram said. “I think to the extent that the past is a predictor of the future, the answer is yes.”
But our future history is not yet decided. Governments and institutions have the resources and intragenerational structure key to keeping collective memories alive.
“And the question is, do we feel the moral imperative not to let the story end with us?” Hirst said.