Numbers in an emergency : the many roles of indicators in the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has shaken the world. Yet, what may be its lasting consequences? Jared Diamond offers the optimistic view that: ‘If the world's peoples join together, under compulsion, to defeat COVID-19, they may learn a lesson. They may become motivated to join together to combat more dangerous global threats like climate change, resource depletion, and inequality’ (Diamond, 2020) By contrast, Michel Houellebecq is both sceptical and pessimistic as he suggests that: ‘We will not wake up after the lockdown in a new world. It will be the same, just a bit worse.’ In this Special Issue, we are specifically interested in the many roles of indicators in the COVID-19 crisis. Thus, reflecting on the statements by Diamond and Houellebecq, it may be asked, for example, whether the extensive use of indicators in the COVID-19 crisis should be seen as a positive or negative development, and how far the profound social role of indicators in this crisis is the continuation of developments that have preceded the pandemic.