Final answer:
While the COVID-19 pandemic shares similarities with historical plagues in overwhelming health systems and affecting societies and economies, modern scientific knowledge and technology provide better means to cope, even as globalization accelerates disease spread, revealing strengths and vulnerabilities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Comparing the experiences of living through the modern global COVID-19 pandemic to the fourteenth century's experience of the plague, it is evident that there are both similarities and distinct differences. Notably, both health crises overwhelmed the public health systems of their times and had profound social, economic, and political impacts. The social and economic costs of these recent plague outbreaks are seen as modern manifestations of historical challenges to state capacity, having similarities in the disruption caused in various societal realms such as the economy, public health, and political stability.
Globalization has had both positive and negative impacts during pandemics. The rapid spread of COVID-19 across international borders highlights the role of globalization in the dissemination of diseases, while technological advancements have allowed for real-time monitoring and faster responses, benefiting global health security.
In contrast to the Black Death, the modern world benefits from advanced scientific knowledge and medical technologies, which have enabled a better understanding of disease and facilitated the development of vaccines. However, the recent pandemic has also exacerbated existing inequalities and prompted social unrest, highlighting vulnerabilities in societies and the importance of international cooperation in addressing global health threats.