During the Great Recession, Rahm Emanuel said, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.  And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before."

That sounds eerily familiar to several statements from a cadre of global elites who are pushing for a World Economic Forum–led "Great Reset" in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

For example, while speaking at the World Economic Forum's rollout of the Great Reset earlier this year, Prince Charles said, "We have a golden opportunity to seize something good from this crisis — its unprecedented shockwaves may well make people more receptive to big visions of change."

His Royal Highness added, "As we move from rescue to recovery, we have a unique but rapidly shrinking window of opportunity to learn lessons and reset ourselves on a more sustainable path.  It is an opportunity we have never had before and may never have again."

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), put it more bluntly: "The Great Reset will require us to integrate all stakeholders of global society into a community of common interest, purpose and action."

In other words, Schwab and the so-called "stakeholders of global society" would like to use the COVID-19 crisis and its aftermath to implement a new world order, called the Great Reset.

So, what would this Great Reset entail?

According to Schwab, "The Great Reset agenda would have three main components.  The first would steer the market toward fairer outcomes[.] ... Moreover, governments should implement long-overdue reforms that promote more equitable outcomes.  Depending on the country, these may include changes to wealth taxes, the withdrawal of fossil-fuel subsidies, and new rules governing intellectual property, trade, and competition."

Put another way, the Great Reset would usher in socialistic policies on a worldwide scale.

The second component of a Great Reset agenda would ensure that investments advance shared goals, such as equality and sustainability[.] ... Rather than using these funds, as well as investments from private entities and pension funds, to fill cracks in the old system, we should use them to create a new one that is more resilient, equitable, and sustainable in the long run. This means, for example, building 'green' urban infrastructure and creating incentives for industries to improve their track record on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.

In this aspect, the Great Reset would ensure that corporations reorder their priorities from profits, growth, and innovation to meeting arbitrary, one-size-fits-all environmental, social, and governance metrics.

The third and final priority of a Great Reset agenda is to harness the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to support the public good, especially by addressing health and social challenges.

Although this sounds milquetoast, it empowers the global elites to determine the "public good" and therefore control the deployment of resources to address what they deem to be "health and social challenges."

If implemented, the Great Reset would change the world as we know it.  American sovereignty would be undermined, as would personal freedom.  And if you think this is a pie-in-the-sky fantasy with little chance of becoming reality, think again.

A litany of prominent institutions and leaders have endorsed the Great Reset, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Greenpeace International, International Trade Union Confederation, McKinsey & Company, John Kerry, Al Gore, Jack Ma, etc.

America's neighbor to the north is already on board.  Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau recently said, "Canada believes that a strong, coordinated response across the world and across sectors is essential.  This pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset.  This is our chance to accelerate our pre-pandemic efforts to reimagine economic systems that actually address global challenges like extreme poverty, inequality and climate change."

Signs point to a hypothetical Biden administration being on board as well.  Biden's Build Back Better plan is straight out of the Great Reset playbook.  Moreover, many of his advisers and potential members of his staff have already voiced support for the Great Reset, including John Kerry, a longtime Biden ally and possible Cabinet member.

The Great Reset is here.  It is happening.  Only time will tell if it becomes the new world order or not.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is an editor at The Heartland Institute.

Image: Open Clipart Vectors, Pixabay.