Can America Benefit from Covid? Ask 14th-Century Florence

, from the Covid plague. And there’s real historical precedent for this: The Italian Renaissance may have begun before the 14th-century plague known as the Black Death, but there’s a strong case the disease—in both its ravages and the social changes it enabled—helped accelerate its progress, especially in the city of Florence. For a time, Florence’s economy bounced back with remarkable social mobility, and it became Europe’s premier center of artistic, cultural and scientific creativity.

The Europe that emerged afterward was different and, due to depopulation, offered new opportunities. Florence may be the clearest example where the plague led to a remarkable opening of the social system as wealthy families and institutions welcomed what were called “new men” into their families and their business guilds.

While the competition raged, it also forced institutions open, as new men joined the political elite and civic associations. Even old guard organizations overcame their trepidation, such as the distinguished Opera del Duomo, which supported the upstart architect Brunelleschi—resulting in the famous cupola of the Florence cathedral.

But it shows clearly that the right systems and opportunities are crucial to benefit from a crisis. A society that in some ways had been trapped by its aristocracy and tradition then put itself in a position to capitalize when those were disrupted, through an enthusiasm for learning and art—with results that made Florence a center of invention, scholarly and artistic creation, and prosperity for centuries.

When you take an 8th grade history class

Erm, nope, actually. You left out the medical role played by the Arabs at the time, as they went fairly unaffected by the plague. Popular rumors to the contrary, Arabs transcribed much of ancient Greek medical knowledge from the Alexandria Library before it was destroyed.

Democrats are using this pandemic to destroy America. That is the truth of todays democrats.

Yep 👍

Never let a crisis go to waste?

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