The state of nature, which results in the Hobbesian war of all against all (bellum omnium contra omnes), tells us something fundamental about the lack of trust: that humans are predatory towards their kind when their inter-subjective institutions implode (homo homini lupus est). We cannot trust in the authorities to cater to our longer-term needs when the measures to cope with this pandemic are, as with the sovereign debt crisis and concomitant financial meltdown, not addressing the egregious injustice at the core of the global world order. In a globalised system, where capital can flow virtually unencumbered from one nation to another, any serious action to improve the distribution of burdens must come in the form of a concerted effort between states.