{"id":5537,"date":"2025-04-28T11:37:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T09:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.lineapelle-fair.it\/?p=5537"},"modified":"2025-04-28T11:37:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T09:37:25","slug":"25-years-of-crises-how-to-survive-an-endless-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.lineapelle-fair.it\/en\/focus-en\/25-years-of-crises-how-to-survive-an-endless-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"25 years of crises: how to survive an endless storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since 2001, we have lived through 25 years of dramatic, interconnected global crises capable – as in the case of <\/em>COVID-19 – of bringing the whole world to a standstill. Each time, we have picked ourselves up again under the illusion that we have changed, according to some developing the gift of resilience. But what if<\/em>, instead<\/em>, we have sadly grown accustomed to living in an endless storm?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Massimiliano Viti<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The world is going faster <\/strong>and faster<\/strong>” is one of the most common phrases we hear. Because it is increasingly hectic and we are bombarded with news, notifications, and content. Because modern society prizes speed<\/strong>, efficiency, <\/strong>and multitasking<\/strong>. It is also fast because of the pace at which technology <\/strong>is evolving. Even climate change <\/strong>seems to have dramatically accelerated its course. Paradoxically, in the last 25 years, negative and catastrophic events of planetary scale <\/strong>also seem to follow one another at the same pace<\/strong>, almost as if they were part of one endless storm<\/strong>. A storm that is still ongoing. Will we be able to rise again this time?<\/p>\n

Endless storm<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Each of these events gave the impression of being the worst in history <\/strong>and was dealt with as such. Crises that froze the world economy, society, consumption and businesses, even the smallest ones. Shock events such as the attack on the Twin Towers <\/strong>in New York (September 2001) or the COVID-19 pandemic crisis (2020-2021) will go down in the history books because they tested the entire world population. Without the test having been definitively passed, another emergency, yet another, immediately presented itself.<\/p>\n

We could mention the 2008-2009 financial crisis triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers<\/strong>, the terrorist attacks <\/strong>in Europe, the various – increasingly crazy and endless – wars, Brexit<\/strong>, and energy shocks<\/strong>. Not forgetting the local catastrophes<\/strong>: floods, earthquakes and other natural (and other) phenomena that have affected certain territories. The latest slap in the face is the tariff war <\/strong>unleashed by the (un)new tenant of the White House, Donald Trump. The uncertainty he is (consciously) causing is the main enemy of the economy and consumption.<\/p>\n

How to survive<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In these 25 years (2001-2025), to cope with numerous emergencies, people and companies have become, by necessity, resilient<\/strong>. A term, not surprisingly, rediscovered in recent years. This entails, materially, a redistribution <\/strong>of consumer spending, <\/strong>in view of a possible further deterioration of the situation, which penalises the voluptuous ones. For example: fashion purchases. Even luxury – as we have been discovering for many months – is not immune to this upheaval.<\/p>\n

It would have been easier to take countermeasures if the speed of the events had not led to the overlapping of <\/strong>their economic consequences, creating a cocktail with a particularly indigestible taste. In other words, the US tariffs came at a time when there is still inflation <\/strong>and interest rates <\/strong>are quite high (although they are falling). They have messed up the currency and energy markets. So companies are being called upon to give more answers on several fronts<\/strong>. In general, they have been forced to take countermeasures by playing defence and optimising costs (also, unfortunately, with layoffs) and diluting investments.<\/p>\n

Consequences for consumption<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Consumers <\/strong>have also trained themselves to react and take countermeasures to emergencies. In some cases, surprising the markets. Take the post-Covid example. If there were two certainties during the pandemic, it was that fast fashion <\/strong>would enter a deep crisis, hand in hand with that of their supply chain. Then, that digital sales <\/strong>would soon supplant the obsolete physical shops. Today, we find ourselves with fast fashion doing better than luxury <\/strong>and with online <\/strong>players in crisis<\/strong>. High-end fashion, after a boom period, came to an abrupt halt, taking by surprise the brands and suppliers who had over-produced to meet demand. The supply chain went haywire <\/strong>and is still trying to recover.<\/p>\n

Is everything as before or everything different from before?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

But when they recover, will the market and the world go back to the way they were, or will it have changed? Will it be the end of globalisation<\/strong>, as many fear? With each past catastrophic event, many presaged epochal changes in thinking, consumption, and the pace of life. After five years, we can say that the pandemic has changed us less than we had assumed<\/strong>. We have become accustomed to video calls, and smart working seemed likely to disrupt professional and social dynamics. But then? Among the five most clicked words on Google in 2024 – in various categories – there is not one that can be traced back to COVID-19. Nor to the war between Russia and Ukraine or other tragic events such as the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Is it because – rather than being resilient – we are now sadly accustomed to misfortunes?<\/p>\n

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