What’s Next?

Socialists view today’s inequality as stemming from a capitalist society in which exploitation is an inherent consequence of the very structure of the social system we live under. The relentless pursuit of profit and economic growth above all else has propelled human civilization onto a terrifying trajectory.  The reality of the COVID-19 pandemic must now usher in a shift in the way we think. We must think big. Really very big and we are probably still not thinking big enough. Our lives have already been reshaped so dramatically in the past few months is revealing the structural faults of a system that have been papered over for decades as they’ve been steadily worsening. Gaping economic inequalities, rampant ecological destruction, and pervasive political corruption are all results of unbalanced capitalist system. The chasm between the haves and have-nots may become even more extreme, especially if treatments for the virus become available but are priced out of reach for some people. But it doesn’t have to turn out that way. The pandemic can lead to a renaissance of humanitarian values and a fairer society. We’re already seeing signs of this.

 We must strive to control our own destiny. The billionaires and CEOs want control, and they are terrified by the idea of workers getting organized to demand things that might have the slightest impact on their billions of dollars in profits. We know where profits come from. They come from the workers. This is the nature of the rotten capitalist system, which at all times puts the greed of the billionaires ahead of the lives and needs of working people. World socialism is the only way we ensure that the health and needs of ordinary people and the planet come first.

As the pandemic continues to unfold, but it serves to expose the myths and misconceptions of capitalism which gives free rein to companies to make profits on how they see fit. There are also multiple examples of companies acquiring smaller innovative companies “solely to discontinue the target’s innovation projects and preempt future competition,” according to researchers Colleen Cunningham, from London Business School, and Florian Ederer and Song Ma, both from Yale.

A particularly poignant example of these “killer acquisitions,” given today’s ongoing ventilator shortage, is Covidien’s attempted 2012 purchase of California-based Newport Medical Instruments,  a smaller competing medical device company that had secured a contract from the federal government in 2010 to produce up to 40,000 mobile ventilators. But as David Dayen of The American Prospect observed, the purported rationale for the acquisition was bogus: It had nothing to do with expanding Covidien’s product base and everything to do with destroying a competitor whose product “could cut into its existing profits.”

This coronavirus pandemic has massively amplifyied and accelerated changes that were already underway: shifts that might have taken decades can occur in weeks. What might the new shape of society look like?

Artificial Intelligence has the capacity to introduce game-changing efficiencies in the production process, quality control in terms of production and blueprints for new models of production and consumption. It can handle huge volumes of administration and management of automated systems.

Automated manufacturing  can produce goods at precision levels beyond what people can make, as well as at increasing volumes. 3D manufacturing is a universalizing process: one machine capable of producing a dizzying number of products.

Recent major advances in energy production—from solar and wind to geothermal and energy storage—are the holy grail of non-carbon energy sources, permitting solar and wind industries giving more weight to revisit  energy alternatives.

High-speed data transfer—enabled through satellites and huge server farms—is necessary for the multi-location management and logistical coordination of the segments of the new supply chain: the means of information transfer and the capacity of one hand to know what the other is doing.

The rise of nanotechnology—the capacity to engage in precision design and manufacture at a molecular scale—presents humanity with a new frontier of materials and products that have capabilities beyond what we currently know in terms of materials, products, medicines and much more. Products ranging from glass to suntan lotion are already vastly enhanced by nanotechnology production. Qualities of human-made materials such as those designed for fireproofing, insulation and space travel are in the midst of being revolutionized. Medicines can be deployed through nanotechnology at the molecular level, vastly improving their effectiveness.

The future survival of our civilisation depends upon a new way of thinking.