The Covid-19 Pandemic has exposed the inability of Capitalism to solve the problems of humanity. The responses of most of the Western democracies, who are also the ardent practitioners and advocates of this economic system, have fallen gravely short of protecting the majority of their citizens. In contrast they have bent over backwards to appease business at the dire expense of workers, who risk not just infection for themselves, but their families too. These governments argue that the economy should run as normally as possible and disruption to their profits should be curtailed. This curtailment includes: that workers must go to work with the bosses taking responsibility for the provision of workplace hygiene, self-isolation, minimizing physical contact, following an immune boosting diet and washing of your hands with soap and water or using hand sanitizer. Almost all of these measures pose a serious problem to our poor working class who have been fighting since 1994 for proper service delivery, access to clean running water, proper refuse removal and waste management, proper jobs, decent housing, a reliable public transport system and proper health care, amongst others. Meanwhile, the moneyed classes have the luxury of stockpiling essential goods, private health care, home schooling and most can work online from home. The really wealthy can comfortably live off their investments. In stark contrast, the working class, due to their inability to access the above requirements to survive the pandemic must once again bear the brunt of this crisis.
The western democracies have also spread some serious lies about their inability to help the poor to effectively survive this pandemic. One of the major lies exposed is that a privatized economy is the answer to all our socio-economic woes. Britain is now facing a serious economic crisis with their private healthcare system being too costly for the working class as well as proving inadequate for the treatment of the geometrically growing numbers of infected. Their privately run public transport system is another casualty of this COVID-19 war as both local and international travel have severely declined. Like the financial sector in 2008, these private companies are now asking for bailouts from their government to the tune of billions of pounds in lost revenue. Spain has also seen the dreadful shortcomings of its privatized healthcare system and was forced to temporarily nationalize its healthcare system.
Another major lie is that the economy should run normally to minimize the resultant socio-economic impact of COVID-19. The truth is that the capitalist economy must be kept alive at all costs. This is the self-same economy that generates extreme wealth for a few billionaires (1% of humanity) at the expense of the poor working class, who either languish in dire poverty or slave daily for a mere pittance. This is an economy that produces tons of non-essential toys for the rich. Where it does produce essential goods like food, these are sold at a profit and thereafter, if unsold, is dumped to keep prices artificially high; this, while millions die of starvation! This is a system that denies millions of people lifesaving health care simply because they cannot afford it. This is a system that evicts millions of people from their homes in the face of homelessness for hundreds of millions! This is a system that punishes the real produces of wealth in the factories, mines and farms with meagre slave wages while the rich accumulate scandalous wealth, which they gamble with on the global stock markets.
Another blatant lie is that the capitalists cannot afford to let workers stay at home. According to an article on the internet that refutes this claim: “South African companies listed on the JSE have performed exceptionally well over the past few years, with the 25 largest companies now worth over R10 trillion, combined.” [Business Tech, 16 March 2017]
And:
The top executives’ earnings on the JSE are even more incredulous: “Together, the top twenty executives own more than R280 billion in shares – about R50 billion more than the market capitalisation of Vodacom. Their share investments are also worth more than South Africa spends a year on all social grants (R259 billion), which are paid to 16.5 million individuals, and far more than the country’s total healthcare budget (R205 billion). [Helena Wasserman , Business Insider SA July 30, 2018] [Author’s emphasis]
These startling facts give a clearer picture of the real situation that the working class is facing. The country can easily utilize private funds to secure the health and safety of the bulk of the population. Moreover, they can afford to let the workers stay at home for at least a month at full wages. But they are not prepared to do so as this system is based on the private accumulation of capital. Simply put, the wealth of the individual comes before the needs of the majority.