Nothing in human history is inevitable. We are not living and organising society according to any pre-ordained schemes. We are masters of our own history, not slaves of it. We can do what we choose.
The society we live in produces war. There is a split between the minority who own and control the means of life and the majority of us who produce the wealth. A split, that is. between those who produce but do not possess and those who possess but do not produce. The economic rivalries among the wealth owners over market territories, areas rich in mineral resources and strategic locations on the trade atlas are often fought off the conference tables on the battlefields. Society based on competition and property is a war-producing society.
If humanity makes war to conquer nature then we will be on the losing end of such a conflict. We need to switch soicety to a new mode of living that does not collide with our environment. There is no solution other than ending capitalism entirely. Like any virus capitalism if left intact will mutate and adapt itself to its new conditions. The capitalist system will endeavour to normalise the ever present threat of pandemics. Capitalism faces the paradox of one of its infamous contradictions, an increasing globalisation of the economy alongside and a retreat of nation-states into their own traditional borders to resolve global problems. Some populist politicians are calling for stricter immigration controls while some corporations are railing against protectionist policies. But the people need socialism to assure the safety and flourishing of all our planet’s people.