Working people must be wondering in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic if the wealthy and powerful have been contaminated by another sort of virus - humanitarianism. Some are quite baffled by the ruling class's response to COVID-19. Why has our ruling class suspended the laws of capitalism, closing down production, shutting down borders, ending the movement of peoples, foregoing share dividends? What has made those who normally have little concern for the well-being of their employees suddenly panic?
One obvious motivation looms large - the ruling class is not protected from this virus, unlike diseases of poverty like TB which is the most prevalent infectious disease that kills a million every year. So they have reason to be seriously worried. Historically public health legislation has been passed e.g. for water sanitation, clean air etc, when the ruling class also found themselves affected. Their most immediate worry they've got is catching it themselves, as all the money in the world can't buy a cure right now. Their more long-term worry is going bust amid a global slump while governments are also racking up unsustainable levels of debt, and The operating laws of capitalism may be suspended for several weeks and perhaps several months but they cannot be broken permanently - hence the growing voices albeit still minority now saying lets return to normalcy and accept the inevitable deaths as the price worth paying. We can be sure all parties will be very keen to tell workers it's safe to go back to work at the earliest possible opportunity, as soon as international health regulators can be persuaded to back their play. Whether workers will be convinced is debatable, however once the temporary subsidies are removed they won't have any choice in the matter.
But is the fear of getting the virus isn't the overriding factor for the ruling class. We can suspect it's the fear of a total collapse of the social order.
Capitalism remains stable as long as populations are acquiescent and docile, doing what they've been brought up to do, but that requires a quid pro quo from the rich, an income to cover food, rent or mortgages and utility bills, to provide healthcare and general security. You can always deprive or deny a proportion of the population but not all of it simultaneously, and certainly not globally.
The spectre that's haunting the minds of our masters must be the possibility of massive discontent and social disorder breaking out worldwide. No wonder they're panicking with visions of their Old Etonian chums being strung up from the lampposts. If that seems exaggerated let's remember that the ruling class is the class-conscious class. They know what's in store for them if the 99% rise up against them. They must be thinking that if they mess this up, they could be facing revolution in country after country from desperate workers who have nothing to lose. And we should add it is said that workers are just six meals away from the barricades.
It has been the voluntarism of working people that has kept society running. A new disease has gone viral - one that is spreading solidarity. There is a new epidemic - an outbreak of altruism - a rush to help one another. When this pandemic eventually subsides, those who had been previously ignored and neglected will they forget that their communities survived because of their contributions and sacrifices. Surely, there'll be a day of reckoning?
One obvious motivation looms large - the ruling class is not protected from this virus, unlike diseases of poverty like TB which is the most prevalent infectious disease that kills a million every year. So they have reason to be seriously worried. Historically public health legislation has been passed e.g. for water sanitation, clean air etc, when the ruling class also found themselves affected. Their most immediate worry they've got is catching it themselves, as all the money in the world can't buy a cure right now. Their more long-term worry is going bust amid a global slump while governments are also racking up unsustainable levels of debt, and The operating laws of capitalism may be suspended for several weeks and perhaps several months but they cannot be broken permanently - hence the growing voices albeit still minority now saying lets return to normalcy and accept the inevitable deaths as the price worth paying. We can be sure all parties will be very keen to tell workers it's safe to go back to work at the earliest possible opportunity, as soon as international health regulators can be persuaded to back their play. Whether workers will be convinced is debatable, however once the temporary subsidies are removed they won't have any choice in the matter.
But is the fear of getting the virus isn't the overriding factor for the ruling class. We can suspect it's the fear of a total collapse of the social order.
Capitalism remains stable as long as populations are acquiescent and docile, doing what they've been brought up to do, but that requires a quid pro quo from the rich, an income to cover food, rent or mortgages and utility bills, to provide healthcare and general security. You can always deprive or deny a proportion of the population but not all of it simultaneously, and certainly not globally.
The spectre that's haunting the minds of our masters must be the possibility of massive discontent and social disorder breaking out worldwide. No wonder they're panicking with visions of their Old Etonian chums being strung up from the lampposts. If that seems exaggerated let's remember that the ruling class is the class-conscious class. They know what's in store for them if the 99% rise up against them. They must be thinking that if they mess this up, they could be facing revolution in country after country from desperate workers who have nothing to lose. And we should add it is said that workers are just six meals away from the barricades.
It has been the voluntarism of working people that has kept society running. A new disease has gone viral - one that is spreading solidarity. There is a new epidemic - an outbreak of altruism - a rush to help one another. When this pandemic eventually subsides, those who had been previously ignored and neglected will they forget that their communities survived because of their contributions and sacrifices. Surely, there'll be a day of reckoning?
This pandemic is most probably the greatest political and economic development in our life-time. It could also be one of socialists greatest opportunity in generations to present the case for a society of mutual solidarity. iI has empowered those who previously were seen as surplus to requirements. Capitalism has identified who really are the key workers to the operation of its economics. Surely the shelf-stackers, the uber and gig workers will not forget the lesson. The skills and scalpel of the surgeons was very much secondary to the scrubbing brush and disinfectant of the hospital cleaners.
It is not unprecedented for capitalism to give priority to something other than profit-making. They don’t in major wars where their priority is victory and they spend “what it takes” to achieve this. But once the war over, it’s a return to prioritising profit as usual. Which is what will happen after this public health crisis is over.
But as in post-WW2 Britain, people expect their sacrifices to be rewarded and received the Welfare State. Can we now expect to raise our economic demands and exercise our newly discovered power if we are refused.
What will capitalism do this time around? Will it opt, as it did in 2008 recession, for policies of austerity to restore profits and to pay back the debt of extra government spending? Or shall we recognise that it was cooperation and solidarity which got us through COVID-19.
The task now for socialists is to use this coronavirus crisis to strengthen the case for socialism – that even with social distancing, and self isolation we are social animals and when push comes to shove, we will work together as citizens of the world. This pandemic is exposing the inequalities inherent within capitalist society and also to point out the cooperation and mutual aid initiatives being set up as positive signs of perhaps social changes that in future maybe stepping stones to socialism. Today, offers an opportunity for ourselves to promote our vision for the future, one of social ownership and social planning of production.
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