Skip to main content
Home
  • About us
    • Who we are
      • Our history
      • Our customers
      • Our brand
      • Art at Aegon
    • What we do
      • Our businesses
      • Our strategy
      • Integrated Annual Report
    • Governance
      • Executive Board
      • Management Board
      • Supervisory Board
      • Compliance
      • Governance documents
  • Investors
    • General
      • Analyst consensus
      • Annual reports
      • Financial calendar
      • Financial results
      • Aegon and IFRS 17
      • Aegon NL and a.s.r.
      • Presentations archive
    • Capital & liquidity
      • About debt programs
      • Debt program Aegon N.V.
      • Debt program Aegon Bank N.V.
      • Dividend
      • Ratings
      • Share buyback program
    • Shareholders & AGM
      • Annual General Meeting
      • Extraordinary General Meeting
      • Retail shareholders
      • Share price tool
      • Contact investor relations
  • Newsroom
    • News
      • News Updates
      • Press releases Aegon N.V.
      • Press releases Aegon Bank N.V.
    • Media relations
      • Contact media relations
      • Media kit
  • Sustainability
    • Focus themes
      • Climate change
      • Inclusion & diversity
    • Our approach
      • Ambition & governance
      • Commitments, ratings & recognition
      • Reports & policies library
    • Stakeholder value
      • Responsible investment
      • Responsible tax
      • Community investments
      • Government & policy affairs
      • Human rights
      • Responsible procurement
      • Customer experience
      • Engaged workforce
  • Careers
  • Aegon country websites

    Select another Aegon website from the list of links below.
    • country flag
      Aegon Poland
    • country flag
      Aegon Life (India)
    • country flag
      Transamerica (USA)
    • country flag
      Aegon Spain
    • country flag
      Mongeral Aegon (Brazil)
    • country flag
      Aegon Asset Management
    • country flag
      Aegon THTF (China)
    • country flag
      Aegon Romania
    • country flag
      Aegon United Kingdom
    • country flag
      Aegon The Netherlands
  • Filters
    Article Type

Are we getting worse at handling disasters?

July 12, 2021, 7:00 CEST
3 minutes

Breadcrumb

  1. News & updates

Historian Niall Ferguson talks to the John Adams Institute about his new book 'Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe', COVID-19 and how we might better prepare to tackle future threats.

Having finished the first volume of his biography of Henry Kissinger, Scottish-American Niall Ferguson decided to take a break and do something 'fun'. This led him to write Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (2021), curiously coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Although COVID-19 obviously features, his aim was to propose a general theory of disaster, Ferguson told an online presentation, hosted by the John Adams Institute, on July 5.  He emphasized, "Doom is not a book about COVID-19 and it is not just a book about pandemics. It's a general history of disasters of all kinds, including man-made disasters."

Nevertheless, COVID-19 and responses to the pandemic around the globe dominated the discussion during the John Adams event.

Ferguson's central argument is that human vulnerability has increased, and we've become more fragile in some ways, as we have grown more sophisticated, more numerous and more inter-connected. Human longevity and obesity are other contributing factor. Ferguson, "We are an elderly species compared with the humanity of 100 years ago. That means there are a lot of relatively vulnerable people."

 

"Doom is not a book about COVID-19 and it is not just a book about pandemics. It's a general history of disasters of all kinds, including man-made disasters."

Niall Ferguson
 

He also argues that the 21st century bureaucratic state "seems less nimble, seems slower to respond in an emergency than perhaps was true 50, 60 or 70 years ago". Interestingly, Ferguson points to mid-level bureaucrats and the Center for Disease Control in the US rather than leaders of countries when evaluating responses.

The historian makes the case that the death toll in the pandemic could be compared to the Korean War, while the economic impact of lockdowns and business closures was comparable to that of a world war. Stressing he not downplaying climate change, Ferguson expressed concern that the rising focus on that issue could mean we miss other looming disasters. He said, "There are other things than can happen faster than climate change and we really need to pay attention to those too."

Watch the discussion

Join the debate

Niall Ferguson is the latest in a long line of thought-provoking speakers presented by John Adams Institute. Supported by Aegon as a sponsor, the Amsterdam-based institute provides an independent podium for American culture in the Netherlands. For three decades now, it has brought the best and the brightest of American thinking from the fields of literature, politics, history, technology and the arts.

The pandemic has led to moving the events online and everyone can listen to and ask questions during the discussions. Go to the John Adams Institute website to see the agenda of upcoming speakers.

Related links

John Adams Institute More about Niall Ferguson

Contact

  • Media relations
  • Investor relations

Related links

  • John Adams Institute
  • More about Niall Ferguson
  • About us
    • Who we are
    • What we do
    • Governance
    • Contact Aegon
  • Investors
    • General
    • Capital & liquidity
    • Shareholders & AGM
  • Newsroom
    • News
    • Media relations
  • Sustainability
    • Our focus themes
    • Our approach
    • Stakeholder value
  • Careers
    • Vacancy search
    • Working at Aegon
Site logo
  • Privacy statement
  • Cookie statement
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • General terms and conditions
Aegon ©2023