Never give up and never give in

A bloggers for world socialism we address social issues central to the concerns of our fellow-workers around the world, including health, migration, peace, climate, poverty, sustainable production, social justice, women, children and gender justice, human rights, indigenous peoples, and much more. Our mission is to help build people and communities ability to manage their own affairs, respecting no sovereign boundaries or national allegiances. The reality is that humanity’s access to  wealth, health and housing have long been imperilled prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the health crisis is being used as an excuse to grab political power, to tighten internal security laws and infringe further on  civil liberties and democratic rights. It has resulted in a rise in racist and xenophobic attitudes and a resurgence of populist nationalism around the world.

 But, nevertheless, COVID-19 has paused the unbridled pursuit of profit and capital. When the world reopens we have the task to transform, global and local arrangements to protect humanity and the planet, from the ravages of capitalism and its social inequalities.

Many of the major problems we must overcome are global and national divisions add to the complexity of their solutions. Everyone breathes the same air so pollution in the atmosphere is a world issue.

What we’ve been shown by the COVID-19 pandemic is that it is solidarity or death. However, this coronavirus catastrophe can point towards an alternative future. We find ourselves at an unprecedented moment where there need not be a “return to normal” and to go back to the way they were before. Business-as-usual was a highly polluting and an ecologically unsustainable economy locking us into catastrophic climate change. We simply cannot afford to do that. We can do things differently. 

Rather than wanting it all to go back to “normal”, let’s imagine another future where people have everything they require for fulfilling, meaningful and prosperous lives. Where our everyday needs are provided for by sustainable and renewable resources. A future that is equitable, more secure, and more satisfying – and all within our planet’s ecological limits. We know it is in our power to change the way we do things. 

Over the last few months, nearly all of us have adapted our life-styles and changed the way we work in order to protect ourselves and other people from Covid-19. As family, as friends, as neighbours, as co-workers, we have made clear that we value cooperation and compassion more than anything else. We as individuals have taken bold decisions for the collective good. We have been reminded of our sense of community. What we now decide will determine the quality of life for billions of people for generations to come. In order to create a sustainable world, it requires the end of capitalism. The pandemic lockdowns has revealed what the world looks like without as much pollution and without meaningless “work” performed by the exploited for the benefit of the privileged and pampered. Another world is possible, and we’ve just gotten a glimpse of it.