Like climate change, COVID is settling into its status as a “permacrisis” as we approach the two-year mark, something that doesn’t just happen so much as it envelops us and becomes an enduring environment that we inhabit. John Robb, who writes about technology and politics, predicted this week1 that the pandemic and climate change will soon fuse into one single permacrisis (if they haven’t already), characterized by ongoing amplification of fear, government restrictions, and consolidation of corporate power (the increasingly familiar playbook for long-term disasters). “In the disciplinary societies one was always starting again,” Deleuze wrote, “while in the societies of control one is never finished with anything.” Endlessness is inherent to the fabric of our reality now—feeds, relationships with brands, relationships with institutions, and yes, even catastrophes.
