Sonal Agarwal
COVID-19 has caused colossal damage to countries worldwide. Humans and all their activities have been quarantined. It has impacted the world politically, economically, and socially. However, the deeper question that needs to be addressed is: has the pandemic brought us closer to one another in some way? Or is it just an illusion and the reality remote from it?
If we look at the current scenario, there appears to be a silver lining. It doesn’t really matter anymore that people live far off from each other in the US, Pakistan or India, for we are not restricted by the territorial borders of a nation. The whole world is grappling with the crisis and the seriousness of it and the current circumstances have made the world come together to fight it. International organisations and some countries are trying to ensure the availability of medical equipment, economic assistance and basic necessities to those countries in need.
At least, this is what appears to be happening. But is it really so? Has the world become closer to each other than before? To many scrutinising the situation we’re all in at the moment, there is a dreadful side to this story — a harsh reality that needs to be immediately addressed. According to them, ever since the inception of the virus, many countries around the world have become self-centered and have started a sort of race amongst themselves. Undoubtedly, these are times when every country is striving hard to protect its own people from the deadly virus, but what’s disappointing is the fact that global politics and international rivalry have not been put a stop to even temporarily. Instead, these issues have deepened.
Worsening the pre-existing prejudices in society, people are against the Chinese and have gone as far as criticising their culture. They have become hostile towards China, despite the fact that there has been no evidence to prove that they deliberately spread the virus. Secondly, the USA has shown a very indifferent attitude towards other nations and the pandemic as a whole. It did not attempt to coordinate an international response, further exposing that their image of being a “benign superpower” is only an image after all. US President Donald Trump, who has been utterly unsuccessful in handling the spread of the virus in his own country, lashed out at China by defaming it. The blame game hasn’t yet come to an end, with Trump constantly blaming China for the origin and spread of the disease and even calling it a “Chinese-virus”. The US, one of the major funders of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has stopped its funding by accusing the organisation of being “too China-centric”. This has been a major blow to the world. Such an act by the most powerful country today is completely inappropriate and condemnable. It seems like the nation is prioritising its political agendas and international disputes more than its own people. Moreover, Trump presented his country as a nationalistic loner. This included an attempt to buy a German pharmaceuticals firm in order to secure a vaccine “only for the USA”, coupled with the refusal to ease sanctions on Iran.
When the USA has given up taking the lead during these times, China has come forward in order to take its place and assume leadership. As the country is now free from coronavirus and its economy has resumed function, China is trying to project itself as a global leader and supplying medical kits and expertise to the nations in dire need, thereby distinguishing itself from an inward-focused Trump administration. The lack of leadership shown by Washington has made China a necessity for many nations even in the West. Even though a large part of the world remains furious with China for its initial concealment of adequate information (China had its first case in mid-November but alerted WHO about the same on 31st December, almost one and a half months later), they are forced to take the help of the Chinese.
When we take a look at the plight of some least developing or poor countries, the situation seems way more disturbing. Amid the worst sufferers are these countries who lack the resources and ability to tackle such problems on their own, and this is where global cooperation and international assistance must come into play. Although counties are trying to work together to fight the pandemic, there still are many nations that have become absolute victims in the hands of the pandemic. One such gravely affected region is Africa, which has not received proper assistance and is on the verge of running completely out of food and other necessary items. These regions are likely to slip into an acute economic crisis even without having contained the health damage.
Political leaders are usually insulated from major health scares by their wealth and access to private health care. But the coronavirus has already impacted leaders across the world, afflicting officials in the United States, Australia, Canada, and more. Despite these high-profile cases, democratic institutions in all of these countries are likely to be robust enough to cope with the short-term incapacity or isolation of their leaders. However, the consequences will be very different in countries where political institutions are weaker and where the illness or death of a leader has been known to generate the kind of power vacuum that might inspire rival leaders, opposition parties, or the military to launch a power grab. It is therefore extremely worrying that senior political officials and leaders have also contracted COVID-19 in countries like Burkina Faso, Iran, and Nigeria, those that are already unstable gerontocracies. A leadership crisis is just one of the potential sources of political instability the coronavirus could spark, along with the fact that some of the main providers of foreign aid are now preoccupied with a perfect storm of elite deaths, debt, mass unemployment, social unrest and political instability. Hence, this clearly depicts the incapability of the international system to protect the vulnerable countries that are the hardest hit.
Not only is cooperation between countries in a sorry state, people’s unity too seems to be dispiriting. Healthcare workers, sanitary workers, police, and the like are being targeted worldwide. On the one hand, we’re applauding them by banging utensils, cheering from our balconies, and lighting candles, but on the other, they are being shunned and ostracised by some of us. Those infected by the virus are being excluded from societies and have become the victims of inhuman treatment. There have also been reports and complaints from doctors, nurses, and patients as they’ve been asked to vacate their rented homes and are being forcefully evicted. Another very alarming state is of the migrants who’re bearing the brunt of the situation. It seems like social stigma, discrimination, xenophobia and prejudice are spreading way faster than the pathogen, which in no way are bringing people together, but are making them hostile towards each other.
Therefore, in order to suppress these evils in society, some essential steps need to be taken at the earliest. People should not blatantly spread the names or identity of those infected by the virus on any social media platforms or in their locality. The spread of misinformation about healthcare professionals, the growth of the virus, patients infected, and the like should be put an end to, and more fact-checked awareness be spread. Anyone spreading hatred instead, towards any other individual or country must be held liable. All workers have a critical role to play in such frightful times, and hence, deserve our support and appreciation.
From far, it appears as if the world is uniting in these times of disaster, but ground realities depict a very disappointing picture. The innumerable small problems prevalent upto an international level need to be tackled for everyone to come together and fight the pandemic in the true sense. There’s no doubt that an outbreak of a communicable disease can cause anxiety, fear and helplessness amid the masses, but the issues currently clouding societies cannot be accepted or justified in any way and will only lead to more hostility, chaos and social disruption. Instead of being selfish during this appalling time of uncertainty and fear, people and countries should come together and support each other as a form of solidarity. The rich and well off countries must come forward and aid the vulnerable ones. We are fighting the same battle and can only conquer it, if we stay united, and not against each other.
The major cause of such hostility and indifference shown by countries towards each other is the nature of the global political economy. The pandemic has laid bare the flaws and failures of the capitalist and neo-liberal regime. On the other hand, democratic socialist states have placed the health of its populace at its center and gained support worldwide. Socialist governments have given importance to policies and programs aimed at reducing the effects of the pandemic and saving their populace, whereas capitalist governments have paid more attention to global politics and economy.
The so-called developed countries have failed to meet the most basic requirements of its people and handle the crisis as a whole. Delay in implementing stringent measures like nationwide lockdowns, lack of proper health care facilities, no major people-friendly policies or programs, no special help to the vulnerable sections including the elderly, differently-abled, low income workers, and the like are some of the major drawbacks that accounted for the poor handling of the situation in these liberal democratic nations. Many multinational corporations too have suffered a setback during these times.
Ideology too, can define the world order. Currently, capitalism seems to be promoting exclusion and precarity, whereas socialism seems to be offering an alternative. History proves that the world order changes with changing times and a more apt system is adopted globally. The plague of the 13th century had a huge impact on this system, which accelerated the decaying of serfdom in medieval Europe, questioning the supreme authority of the Church. This led to the decline of the domination of the Church and brought about a change in the existent political, economic and social structure. Also, after the Cold War of 1991, capitalism became the dominant system globally, with the USA a ‘superpower’.
Capitalism that governs the world of today has proved to be a great failure, and this, in turn, will definitely lead to a change in the prevalent political and economic system sometime in the future. Therefore, let’s hope that COVID-19 is the first step towards a new global order.
Sonal Agarwal is a first year student of Journalism Honours at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. Read her article on the environment, capitalism and the pandemic here.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own, and do not necessarily represent the views of the journal.
Follow us for regular updates:
Telegram
t.me/studentstrugglein
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/studentstrugglemonthly
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/studentstruggleonline/
WhatsApp
https://chat.whatsapp.com/BvEXdIEy1sqIP0YujRhbDR