Coronavirus
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Bijou makes a very important point. Rather like climate change, the human race has collectively been aware of the risks of a pandemic for ages. Worse, we’ve had the means to mitigate or even prevent it. But the powers that be chose not to do this, instead putting their business interests first. The only reason we are in this situation is because our system of society puts profit before people. Seems to me that is one of the main arguments as to why capitalism is at fault here.
Sorry guys but I am only just getting up to date with events on this forum.
Must say I am surprised that there isn’t a lot of happy, motivated people on here who are talking about the successes they are having at work or elsewhere, due to Covid19 and its impact, in getting people to think about a world ordered in a different way, namely a socialist way. Work colleagues are showing far more interest and can see the failures in the system we now have and are asking more about socialist ideas.
So don’t spend your time on this forum or any other social media talking about Johnson,Trump etc. Get the message across to working class people everywhere.
Why as a party are we worried about our own EC meetings and summer school? why are we not putting ourselves up for debates on radio, television on a post capitalist world? If it doesn`t happy this time it is only a matter of time before a far nastier virus or some other crises rears its head.
Come on SPGB this is the best opportunity for years!
Come on SPGB this is the best opportunity for years!
I agree wheatwa46ar – although organisationally it mught be a setback for the SPGB in terms of organising meetings , selling literature , holding summer schools etc. We can limit the damage in that regard by getting all members and sympathisers connected up via the internet for instance and by taking certain other measures.
However in terms of breaking the mould of politics. I think this pandemic is going to have a profound effect on the way people think about the world. In so many ways it makes the case for socialism so much more relevent and appealing
Looks as if Trump is acting quicker and going further than the British government, by giving every US citizen a check for $1,000.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/salvadorhernandez/coronavirus-trump-mnuchin-1000-check-economy
What is that? About two weeks wages? That won’t go very far but it’s not every day that the government gives everybody something for nothing.
And presumably you take the cheque (sic) to the bank, along with all of the other citizens and spread the virus even further!
You can make a bank deposit with a smartphone using it as a scanner
The big paycheck is for the corporations which are going to get an $850.00 billion bailout compared to $150 billions for the US citizen. Bernie Sanders is asking for $2,000 every month
Actually it is so-called “helicopter money” defined by Oliver Kamm in his column in the Times last week entitled “To rescue the economy, summon the helicopter and do a money drop” (13 March) as:
”The Bank of England could in effect create money and then distribute it direct to consumers. It’s known as helicopter money, on the model of a helicopter drop of banknotes to anyone underneath who’s lucky enough to pick them up.”
The idea is to increase aggregate demand and get the faltering economy expanding again. It’s been tried in Japan and Taiwan with the same trivial amount per person. But didn’t work because the capitalist economy isn’t driven by consumer (or for that matter government) demand. It’s driven by profitable capital investment. Without that, you can put as much water in front the capitalist horse as you like, but it won’t drink.
It’s not really got anything to do with helping people survive the loss of income many are suffering through the Coronavirus virus and the effect on the economy of the measures the US government has taken to combat it. But it’s useful to give this impression especially in a presidential election year.
Imposs1904 has drawn attention to this amusing headline in an Australian newspaper:
“Conventional capitalism is dying: Macquarie warns
Macquarie analysts say the world could be tilting back toward an economic system that’s more like communism”
Mind you, as Marcos has pointed out, this does seem to be the end of so-called “neo-liberalism”.
That’s weird – I post something on this thread but the post doesn’t appear. Any ideas Matt?
I have no idea. You should have got an alert if you left the page while the text hadn’t been posted.
Repost it.
Dismissing the conspiracy theories that COVID-19 was a bioweapon
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18314818.coronavirus-not-bioweapon-created-lab-scientists-say/
Could America become the new epicentre of the virus?
On the Front Lines of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Doctor’s View
Also this
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/us/coronavirus-deaths-estimate.html
This crisis has proven our argument that the state is financed with surplus value , without surplus value the state must reduce its benefits and social service, specially medical services, and food for the poor,
The USA is not prepared to confront this epidemic, which is spreading like a fire, there are not enough hospitals, beds, doctors, medical equipment, planning, prevention, now nobody can talk about shithole countries, even more, American are crossing the Mexican border to buy supplies and medications, and some are running away from the epidemic
The billions of dollars spent on the Mexican wall is wasted and gone and only benefited the contractors and others investors , as well, billions was spent on military hardwares instead of bread and butter and medical infrastructures.
Proven that nationalism doesn’t work for the working class it is only a tool used by the capitalist class
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