The imaginative failure of normal: Considerations for a post-pandemic future

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck a forceful blow to an already faltering economic and political system. Decades of neoliberal capitalism have left us with extreme domestic and global inequality, a climate disaster, and the death of democracy. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, any solace found in the toxic status quo has all but vanished. We are faced with an event of major historical significance, the effects of which are sure to be vast and enduring. As we emerge from this crisis and rebuild, we have a tremendous opportunity to (re)consider and (re)formulate the kind of world we want to live in. This essay reflects on the limitations of an uncritical desire for a return to “normalcy.” Further, it asks social workers to engage in a process of imaginative and speculative thinking to envision possibilities for our inevitably changed world.