If many scientists warned of this kind of pandemic, the spectacular outbreak of the coronavirus has taken the world by surprise. In particular, it has exposed the frailties of the world’s health-care systems after years of austerity — and demonstrated their critical dependence on global supply chains.

Only a few weeks ago, world leaders were describing the threat as “fake news” or minimizing it by encouraging the population to go out as normal. Today, most governments are realizing the catastrophic consequences they face if they don’t respond appropriately. And whether they like it or not, the political perspective is changing — as a pandemic again poses the burning need for collective solutions.