Publisher's Synopsis
The Carnival Imagination, a luxury cruise liner worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which just 10 short months ago was touring passengers in extreme comfort to exotic destinations all over the world. This ship is sailing dead ahead to its final port of call, where it has been sold for scrap alongside dozens of other ships that have become the latest victims of the global pandemic. The Chittagong ship breaking yard in Bangladesh is the largest of its kind in the world, and in the past few months even its abundant shores have become inundated with pleasure cruises and industrial cargo ships alike that all could have otherwise sailed the oceans for many more decades. These are all very troubling signs for the unsung heroes of our modern global economy, the merchant marine fleet. "Never let a good crisis go to waste!" Winston Churchill's famous words from the darkest days of world war II have taken on a more sinister meaning as the decades have passed. This quote was actually meant to be an inspirational message of hope to the British people but these days more cynical onlookers see that people with ill intent can use a crisis just as well as those who are virtuous. The "Great Reset" is a collective name given to a series of economic policies that are attempting to use the recovery from the coronavirus as a way to supposedly build a better, brighter, more sustainable future.The Netherlands, a picturesque nation filled with windmills, tulip fields and coffee shops. The nation is looked to by many as an extremely forward-thinking place that practices some pretty progressive policies. The nation has an incredibly strong social security system, with universal healthcare, robust retirement pensions, as well as allowances for maternity leave. And these kinds of policies are mirrored in other areas as well: the nation is home to relatively high tax rates, and the protections for employees are very strong almost to the point that people joke it is impossible to be fired in the Netherlands. So, this kind of looks like a liberal paradise, right? Well, it would if it were not hiding a dirty little secret. This postcard-perfect little nation is, according to the world bank, the most unequal place on earth, and the extent of the inequality is simply staggering.
