The Coronavirus and the Collective Unconscious

In turbulent times such as these, it can be useful to ask what is happening in our collective unconscious: What are we manifesting as a whole? What do our reactions to an event such as the outbreak of the coronavirus tell us about our society and the world we live in?

There is no doubt that the coronavirus is a serious, epidemiological threat, demanding our attention and our rigorous response to prevent it from spreading further. And yet I can’t help wondering if the single-minded focus on the pandemic—which comes at the detriment of many other threats, such as climate change and the rapid deterioration of our environment—only highlights the fervor with which we don't want to engage with these far more dangerous, existential threats.

It is vastly easier to grasp a threat to an individual than a threat to the very survival of our species (and many other species as well). In that sense, the coronavirus is serving as a smokescreen—in much the same way that other developments in recent history, such as the election of a deeply divisive president, have served as a distraction, allowing us to focus on smaller, non-existential threats. It is much more bearable to focus on repairing the plumbing on the Titanic than trying to prevent the whole ship from going down.

I find it curious, though, that some of the “incidental side effects” of the coronavirus outbreak happen to be the very things that scientists and climate advocates have all along been saying that we need to do if we want to stop the worst effects of climate change: significant reductions in air travel, general consumerism, and global trade. Has our unconscious perhaps created a situation that forced us to put in place the very same measures required for a last attempt to stave off the worst outcome of climate change?

The problem is, though, that when the unconscious is activated, its effects are all too often unregulated and chaotic. In an individual, the flaring up of the unconscious can manifest itself as a burst of rage or violence. In broader society, the corresponding effect might express itself as crashed stock markets and deep social unrest.

The only way to deal productively with eruptions of the unconscious is to make them as conscious as possible. By going through these challenging times in the most conscious way, there is a glimmer of hope now for us at the macro level: We, humanity, desperately need to slow down. The coronavirus is now forcing us to do precisely that. If the significant and far-reaching changes and measures we’re putting into place right now are not only viewed as a quick fix to a temporary problem but as changes toward a more sustainable and peaceful future, this crisis can be turned into an opportunity.

Our job now is to be visionaries, not plumbers. For when the unconscious comes knocking as loudly as it is at this moment, it behooves us to listen, and very carefully.