Collective solidarity: An overlooked marker of economic health

A hard look at Lebanon through an economist’s lens would reveal that the national outlook is dismal, the damages accrued during the latest war are staggering, and the political future of the country is fragile and indeterminate. Thankfully, there are plenty of other lenses through which to view a country and its people, and these various angles can illuminate even economic truths that may be overlooked by global economic assessors such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.  If economics can be boiled down to people’s behavior around material wealth, production, and consumption, Lebanon shows high levels of strength and a remarkable capacity for collective economic support. Amid the devastation wrought by the past year of war, Lebanon has demonstrated—once again, as after the Beirut blast and in other periods of catastrophe—its singular capacity for a nearly nation-wide mustering of support and show of solidarity. Despite facing relentless attacks