We are living in an extraordinary time in which the viability of our institutions, the myths of society, and the true worth of leaders, is severely tested. Some leaders, like Donald Trump, are so completely confounded by the challenges that whatever they do or do not do places them in a situation of appearing ridiculous. Others, like Angela Merkle, do not need to be very vocal, since they sit atop functional systems that just work, or at least work better.

Countries like Sweden are being shown that some of the assumptions about themselves as societies are poor companions when they are confronted by a new kind of threat. They do not know how to adapt to it.

The virus managed to out-wait Israel. It is waging a war of attrition against a society that prides itself on being able to pull together in order to fight massive, but short term existential crises. Some of the behaviours that aid it in other circumstances fail it in this kind of crisis.

The pandemic is helping societies learn about themselves and their resilience in times of adversity.