In an age of constant disaster, what does it mean to rebuild?

Disaster is so ubiquitous that the idea of an aftermath has started to lose its meaning. Covid’s brutal, blurry slide from pandemic to endemic is an example that underscores one defining truth of our reality: Our disasters don’t exactly end; they evolve. And if we are to outlast them, so must we.

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To recognize the power of these frenzied moments to transform is not to glorify chaos. Grasping at possibility doesn’t begin to ease the struggle of the present. But the steady breakage of the world around us is an omen that another world is coming, and we may have a chance to shape it.

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These human-caused and “natural” disasters take turns with each other to create a vicious cycle that widens inequities around the globe: Wealthy countries, shielded from the worst consequences of their actions, in turn worsen humankind’s shared exposure to risks such as new pathogens and rising seas. Devastated infrastructure and pressing human needs draw lenders and profiteers whose assistance comes with heavy costs. Displacement and deprivation fuel conflict, spurring more of the same. 

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Human beings’ most foundational resource for coping with crises is the network of people around us. At every level, from households to governments, the breadth and strength of the bonds among its members can be what determine a community’s ability to repair or reimagine itself. Each catastrophe is a test of what kind of society we’ve built. And each recovery offers a chance, however fleeting, to build another.