Let us see that the virus allows us to reflect on ourselves, not simply at a national level, but at a civilizational level – at the level of the human species.
In a matter of a few months, our world has undergone profound disruptions and change. In fact, much of this came in just days and weeks. At first, it was a shock: yes, there is a pandemic, a deadly – or potentially deadly – virus that was spreading rapidly, accelerating exponentially, and killing excessively. Initially it was China, and we did not pay much attention. China has had epidemics before, and they’ll deal with it; that’s just China. Other countries in Asia began experiencing a spike in cases, from South Korea to Iran. But Korea was handling it, and Iran – well, aren’t they kind of a “troubled” spot, anyhow?
Enter Italy
The cases shot up, the crisis erupted, and an emergency was apparent. The numbers read out from our TVs and phone screens showed rising infections and deaths with hospitals overwhelmed. The world’s “trouble spots” were China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. Other nations were putting up travel restrictions and quarantine rules for those arriving from those hot spots. As you read this, you may think, “oh, yeah, I remember when it was just those four.” But it was not so long ago, just early March, two months, eight weeks (as of this writing).
But many other nations had, by that time, reported cases of the virus in their populations, spread by travelers emanating from those four centres. Still, the virus seemed a distant, vague threat. It was worrying, yes, but worrying for China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. “Here,” in whatever country you/we are in (I am in Canada), “we are safe, we are fine.” Our governments had already blocked or quarantined travelers from those countries, so, “we will not have any problems.” The problem is effectively solved, the virus contained; but wow, close call. Poor Italy, though. Poor Italy.
As we all now know, it wasn’t just Italy.
On March 8, the United States had 500 reported cases of the virus; the world had a reported 100,000 cases, and nearly 3,500 deaths, the majority of which were in China. The next day, Italy went into lockdown as Canada and Germany reported their first deaths from the virus. Within days, all 26 European Union nations reported cases of the virus, and many began to shutter their schools. Flights were being suspended, travel grounded, stores were closing, various U.S. states declared emergencies.
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus outbreak to officially be a pandemic, an epidemic on a global level.
Suddenly, seemingly, it was everywhere. The world economy was battered, and global stock markets took a one-two-three punch of crashes on the 9th, 12th and 16th of March. By the third market crash, the US had over 4,000 confirmed cases of the virus, schools were closing in US states and cities, Spain was shutting down, France was shutting down, Germany closed its borders. Two weeks later, at the beginning of April, the United States had more than 200,000 infections and over 4,000 deaths. Global cases surpassed one million, deaths surpassed 50,000, with roughly 91% of Americans ordered to stay at home. Approximately half the world’s population was living under one form of lockdown in early April.
The Lockdowns
The lockdowns created tens of millions of new unemployed, and many governments had to come to the rescue of their citizens (as indeed they should have). But they also made a priority of bailing out financial institutions and large corporations. The world entered a major recession, with most of the commentary declaring this to be the worst economic event since the Great Depression, the worst global economic event in history. It far surpassed the global financial crisis of 2008, which already tore through the past decade and left us with a deeply unstable global economic and financial system, sick and writhing long before the viral spread. The only thing that spread faster than the virus itself was the economic chaos it unleashed.
Trillions of dollars were pumped into financial markets to keep the financial system afloat. In fact, the very same day that the WHO declared a pandemic, the U.S. Federal Reserve (the country’s central bank) announced that it would pump trillions of dollars into the financial system, and for one week in March it said it would make $1 trillion available every day to markets. In April, the Fed announced it could inject trillions more into the financial system.
What the Fed and other central banks spend in a day in providing support to financial markets, governments of the same countries take weeks of negotiations to provide support for their domestic populations, if they do so at all. Financial markets sit at the centre of our global financial system and economy and represent the richest institutions in the world: banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and other investment vehicles that individually hold trillions in assets. These institutions and this system of finance could not survive day one of the pandemic without trillions in support, yet it took weeks to rally less money to support tens of millions of people struggling with unemployment, loss of wages, rents, mortgages, credit card debt and consumer shortages.
The lockdowns were extended, the virus spread, cases rose, deaths continued, populations became restless, and in some cases, resistant. Starting at the point at which the WHO declared a pandemic (on March 11), to the first week of May, the lockdowns have lasted for up to eight weeks (depending on the country). China’s lockdown started much earlier than those in the rest of the world and was thus able to come to an end sooner. However, it is only opening slowly and with caution.
The Spread
In the first week of May, global cases surpassed 3.5 million and deaths rose above 250,000. In the roughly four weeks since the start of April, global cases increased from 1 to 3.5 million, and deaths from 50,000 to 250,000. In that same four-week span, US numbers went from 270,000 cases and 7,000 deaths to 1.2 million cases and 70,000 deaths.
While we struggle with the fatigue of the lockdowns, and earnestly desire for society to open once again – to see our friends and family and be together and experience all the things we previously took for granted – we still must face the struggle of reality. The reality is that the virus is a part of our world now. The virus – and the subsequent global lockdowns – are undoubtedly one of the most significant global events ever witnessed. Much like the virus itself, the economic, political and social chaos and crises it unleashed are only in their early stages, their first few weeks and months. This does not mean that all that is to come will be like the lockdowns and crashes of mid-March, or akin to the human tragedy unleashed in places like Italy and the United States.
It will not all be like that. But there will (likely) be periods of opening, and then more lockdowns to come. There will likely be places that seem to have everything under control, and then there will be countries that plunge into crisis and its people into pain. The virus is a part of our world now, in the actual scientific sense of the virus having mutated from one species into humans, unleashing a highly contagious and deadly new pathogen for which humans have no antibodies or pharmacological remedies. But the virus is also a part of our world as social, political and economic beings. It has ruptured our lives and upended our societies, some more than others.
The Virus is a Mirror
In its spread, we see the interconnectedness of our world; we see our healthcare systems, our doctors and nurses, our “essential workers.” We see the migrant workers who pick our food, the working class who keep us fed and well-supplied with all our necessities. We see inadequate social systems that offer little support. We see lives being sacrificed for the hopes of reviving the economy. We see greed and petulance, madness and depravity.
But we also see how simple it is to provide for the many, to give the financial support that is necessary for the population to meet its basic needs. We see homeless people given empty homes or hotel rooms. We see some countries saying itis time for guaranteed basic incomes. We see the need for better and more widely accessible healthcare. We see the strength and necessity of our working classes, and the uselessness and greed of the financial superclass.
Medical and scientific professionals have been fighting the virus on the front lines, and as a result have often been falling victim to its endless appetite for expansion. Working class people have kept our grocery stores stocked, our supplies shipped, our (remaining) public spaces clean, our deliveries arriving, our stomachs full and our homes secure. They are lower paid, usually with no benefits, and they work in the midst of a pandemic at greater risk to themselves than we face in the comfort of our homes. They are also a major reason why, in the midst of a pandemic and the lockdowns that ensued, civilization itself has not collapsed. It may sound like an exaggeration, but if the food stops being picked, or shipped, and the stores stop being stocked, or items sold; if maintenance workers stopped maintaining, if transport workers stopped transporting, we would have worse problems on our hands than the virus itself.
Compare this class to the super-rich, particularly the financial sector. Once the pandemic was underway, the state institutions opened the floodgates of cash to pump into the financial sector, to the tune of several trillions (the real numbers will not likely be known for years, just as was the case following the global financial crisis of 2008, which itself saw tens of trillions in support for financial institutions). At a moment’s notice, with the threat of a virus, the financial centre of our global economic system crashed and needed more support than ever before, and more support than any other sector of human society.
The working people who we rely upon for our society to keep functioning are left with low wages, few benefits (if any), and increased personal risk of exposure to the virus itself.
If the virus is a mirror of our society, let us see not only what is bad and wrong and frightening in our reflection, but also what is good and strong. Let us see that the virus allows us to reflect on ourselves, not simply at a national level, but at a civilizational level – at the level of the human species. Let us see that other existential threats – such as climate change or nuclear warfare – must be taken more seriously. Let us see the need for a shift in priorities, from economic growth and profits to environmental sustainability and people. Let us put humanity’s potential to survive the 21st century – and for our civilization to avoid collapse – ahead of the desire for better quarterly returns, equity dividends, and profit incentives.
In the function of the virus we also see our global economy, constantly in search of new hosts, new cells to latch onto and infect, consume, and destroy, and from which it disseminates and propagates. Perpetually in search of growth and expansion, it is perfectly designed to spread, to mutate, to accelerate and to destroy. In the ultimate destruction of the host, the virus triumphs, but if it does not spread further, it dies with the host as well.
Let us see in the virus ourselves, our society, for what it is and what it lacks, but also for what it can be. Let us see.
wow, nice to see Andrew back, I thought, your earlier work was extremely good. but quite disappointed to see you apparently validating all the lockdown garbage, which has by now been completely discredited as any kind of useful response – many, many, many highly credible commentators etc pointing out the endless flaws with the strategy – you might have a read around lockdown skeptics, for a beginning
Well thank you, though I’m not sure what you mean by “lockdown garbage” or “highly credible commentators” in that regard. I’ve seen a lot of garbage and lack of credibility coming from the views of those who advocate prematurely ending lockdowns or suggesting that they were not necessary at all. There are responses based upon feelings and beliefs, and then there are responses based upon logic and science. There are many problems associated with and revealed by the lockdowns, varying from case to case, but jumping to the notion that the lockdowns were therefore not necessary at all and somehow we’d be fine in the midst of a pandemic without taking appropriate responses is… baffling.
No one is suggesting that there aren’t flaws with the lockdowns, or that there is anything to “like” about them, but what alternative are these “highly credible commentators” offering? I hear a lot of garbage about prioritizing the economy over the safety of the population, and few if any of it comes from “highly credible commentators”, let alone scientists. But then, I guess I missed all the scientists and epidemiologists and virologists who have “completely discredited” the lockdowns.
Though something tells me that we have very different ideas of who is credible and what forms of knowledge can be classified as expert or not. Happy to take a look at any sources you may have.
Do we make decisions for the good of humanity in the midst of a pandemic based upon what the science and scientists say, or, do we base our decisions upon what some economists and politicians say, with economics more a religious dogma than a science, and politics a shit-show of indecency and insanity (for the most part)? I know what my answer is, and where I am more likely to defer to experts to account for my lack of knowledge. I am not a trained epidemiologist, and therefore I do not have the capacity of knowledge in that field to challenge them on the science. Instead, I can read widely among the experts, collect and go through the knowledge, and form opinions and understandings from there.
But going from what the experts are saying, to what such-and-such economist is saying, or pointing to the (relatively poor) example of Sweden as being a “great example” – an incredibly erroneous assumption – or what some state governor did, or what joe-whomever on YouTube says, well… unless they can somehow lay out a very credible scientific case, I don’t see how they have “completely discredited” anything, except perhaps themselves.
Thanks for welcoming me back to the writing world,
Cheers
Andrew
Good piece of writing there AGM – I could tell you why all this happened. . . . . .maybe you already know.
Thank you. And, “why all this happened”? I’m not sure what you mean.
Check out Dr Andy Kaufman when you have an opportunity to do so. https://youtu.be/fvcEIarencM
I have not heard of this person before, but I did some quick reviewing, taking note of how he basically latches on to the conspiracy theory view of all of this, as well as the fact that his own website disclaimer says, “This information is not medical advice” and “is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other healthcare professional.” In other words, it’s not backed up by professional science, but is just his opinion (and apparently he doesn’t adhere to the germ theory, which raises about a million red flags as far as credibility goes), and also, he is a psychiatrist, not an epidemiologist or virologist.
His early education suggests he studied biology, but his main education and career is in psychiatry, so not exactly positioning him as a reliable expert in the field of virology and epidemiology. I think I can be comfortable relying on the literally hundreds and thousands of experts in the field as opposed to one psychiatrist who claims to discredit them all in a youtube video.
So I have to say that I do not find him credible or convincing.
Thanks for passing along a link though. Good to know that there are these “voices” out there, though I say so from a more concerned stance, as I think a lot of these conspiracy theories are really quite dangerous. Kind of sounds like the Alex Jones crowd.
I’m tempted to pass the video along to people I know who are in epidemiology to see how they would respond. I at least know they are in the field and are actual experts, so anything they would have to say would be much more valuable than myself or, for that matter, this Kaufman character.
Cheers
Andrew
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience-technology/how-distrust-and-coincidences-empower-alex-jones-our-brain
One of Andrews major fallacies is the appeal to authority solely based upon the supposed authoritative nature of such figures. It is a circular loop that is “justified in itself,” with no further explanation. Do not take appeal to authority too far. One need to use ones own instincts and intuition without intellectualism to know what is going on in this crazy time.