![]() To understand how we came to live in a capitalist society that is poised to sacrifice millions for the sake of profits, it is always a good idea to look to capitalism's unparalleled critic, Karl Marx. ![]() Nevertheless, there is a vast gulf between such "human values," and what constitutes economic value in a capitalist society. Healthcare workers, those who give us access to necessities like food, toilet paper, and soap, all perform radically essential functions for our continued existence - even if those who do this work are usually granted lower status than those who design smartphone games and engineer luxury vehicles. Suddenly, we're all questioning what kind of work is actually "essential" and what isn't - that is, what kind of work we value as a society. This is very relevant to the sudden shift in how we think about work. That forces us to question what our society's underlying values really are. Which raises the question: why is this even a matter of public debate? What kind of social system do we live in that forces us to ask whether we can put people's lives first, for a month? The vast majority of people are likely to agree with Caplan: putting people's lives first makes a lot of sense. "Can't we try to put people's lives first for at least a month?" Caplan continued. Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, told the New York Times: "You can't call off the best weapon we have, which is social isolation, even out of economic desperation, unless you're willing to be responsible for a mountain of deaths." But they've also provoked consternation from scientists and public health professionals, who are struggling to be heard over the clanging of the New York Stock Exchange bell. These kinds of callous remarks have been met with obvious outrage from workers who are being exposed to unprecedented risks on the job. If this goes on another several months, there won't be any jobs to come back to for many people. I'm not trying to think of it in any kind of morbid way, but I'm just saying that we've got a choice here, and we are going to be in a total collapse, recession, depression, collapse in our society. Within a very few weeks let those with a lower risk to the disease return to work.Įven more disconcertingly, the lieutenant governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, suggested on Fox News that it would be reasonable for the elderly to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the economy: But crushing the economy, jobs and morale is also a health issue-and beyond. Senior chairman of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein, a registered Democrat who recently announced that he would vote for Trump over Bernie Sanders, tweeted:Įxtreme measures to flatten the virus "curve" is sensible-for a time-to stretch out the strain on health infrastructure. "Our country wasn't built to be shut down," said President Trump at a White House briefing, assuring the public that "America will, again, and soon, be open for business." Which do we value more? We certainly know where many politicians and titans of finance stand hence the appeal from many of them to shorten the period of social distancing and send everyone back to work. The global coronavirus pandemic has exposed a massive fissure in society, one between human life and economic value.
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