Chapter 1: From Pre-crises to Global Recoveries and Why We Can Build Sustainable Futures for the World

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) generated a crisis; however, it also gave us an opportunity to imagine the future and build a better world. Moreover, as we are convinced of the importance of understanding the lessons of history when facing both current and future challenges, this chapter seeks to present a concise overview of global crises since the end of the nineteenth century and to show crises for which we ignored the warning signs and wakeup calls, the consequences of said crises and how we managed to recover and thrive in several cases. Ultimately, we seek to justify the capacity of humanity to build a sustainable future – ideally, a regenerative future.