One year of living with Covid-19
These days it’s ringing one year with Covid-19 being globally around - and, thinking realistically, the end still can not be foreseen. Although, admittedly, the means against the disease that this new coronavirus causes have grown from that status of “zero” last year.
So, let’s forge a summarization what there could be learned through the course of this year past...
One thing that, for sure, could be very clearly learned, wherever you lived on this planet: Capitalism is on its last legs. Or better say: It’s not the economy form anymore which can seemingly supply everyone with everything he/she needs. Also, it’s not the capitalism anymore that people used to know from glorious and wealthy times.
Why is that?
It’s because of the globalized economy that is around there now, that it has formed over decades, and the “development plan” of “let’s develop the world and bring supply and goods to the most difficult areas of the world” has shifted to “let’s make money with the least amount of work and investment” - which in practice means “minimal setup for everything, so that the circle of making money is still being kept up, but don’t think about the future or possible disturbances of that one setup for achieving something”. A wobbly base for supply with necessary goods.
As the virus went around the globe and other states than China and its East Asian neighbors realized that this is a topic that affects them also, this should have become very visible as nearly all countries of the world suddenly charged the market of face masks, disposable gloves and protection suits and found themselves getting way too few than needed because most of the production worldwide had been outsourced to China. - Here not the Middle Kingdom is to blame, but just greed, first world arrogance and a slightly racist mindset of Western enterprises which think like “things that have become minor activities which get paid just a few pennies - these can very well be done by some primitive people; for us this is beyond our standards”.
Enterprises and the big economy never wasted a thought about “What if there could suddenly be a spike in need?”, they didn’t care for a home-brew supply just in case whatever happens.
The only thing they cared about was their profit and about exploiting some folks in a country far away from their headquarters. And they have assured themselves of that never anything is going to happen which may break their concept how they had arranged the supply chains.
As the first countries had to operate with national lockdowns because of infection rates spiking, supply chains being more dominated by greed and thoughtlessness than anything else could be witnessed with food items.
At that time, and still it is so, some countries literally “had the task” to produce ware X and none else did that.
Why? Because of “planned economy”. “Planned economy” that doesn’t serve peoples’ needs and keeping up a public order, but just big enterprises and corporations making the most in profit with the least amount of bet - which had been arranged this way by corrupt politicians which realized the laws and legislature for that over decades.
Simultaneously, it became noticeable how many food items of particular types nationally were produced merely for exporting them to some other nation(s) - because then, these wares once remained in their countries of origin because the international trade and border traffic strongly reduced all by themselves.
So actually there’s a strong overproduction in particular goods just in favor of export in each country because some circumstances for creating them seemingly or factually fit advantageously for those who draw the most gain from the price of them and the separate national economies have been shifted to incredibly monocultures, leading to strong dependence on each other and therefore to fragile supply chains that break down as soon as anything on a larger scale strikes and disturbs their functionality. (Besides: Also leading to incredible one-sided ecological burdens).
Which, in the end, leads to countries producing some particular stuff in such large quantities that they could barely use them up themselves to supply their own people, and other stuff being produced in such few or no quantities that they’re literally fucked if they’re on their own for once.
This is not optimization of production and international “division of labor” according to the concept of David Ricardo. This is abuse of currency exchange courses for the sake of making dead substance called “money”, exploiting one people - the one that manages to be cheaper than all other -, playing multiple ends against the middle for no practical use of human society as a whole, destroying and ruining nature along the way, and even endangering the prosperity that mankind has made it to over centuries (because infrastructure already erected is being left to decay or to reduction due to costs, but which also results in decrease of performance, safety and stability). Including preventing other people from the 2nd or 3rd world countries getting to comparable levels of prosperity - because infrastructure in their countries sees no real development and investment into it anymore, other than if it is for broadening the circle of generating money for some far-away-living already wealthy person in a skyscraper.
During the year with Covid-19 around, witnessing time episodes through the natural seasons with more or lesser restrictions in each country, the overall global economy has a little adapted to the circumstances given - even though, noticeable in many spots and situations, against its will. Actually the big economy wanted to go on and act like nothing is wrong, like the virus and the disease doesn’t exist.
Supply chains have a little adapted through the course too because the countries and their national economies individually realized that this isn’t going to be over so soon and they are going to have to adapt if they want to evade chaos, bottlenecks and public panic - all, additionally, to their own personal disfavor too.
But, one point still remains as it was before: Protection clothes, masks and corona test kits still are being mostly produced and China and other East Asian countries. - The most important goods in order to actually manage and decrease this pandemic.
And the (capitalistically-organized) world economy doesn’t seem to see a problem with that. Forgotten are the troubles of the past spring in which the self-declared “wealthiest countries of the world” were running around like scared chicken and panicked over their lack of supply with basic medical goods for hygiene.
All progresses according to habit meanwhile... With nothing really learned from it.
That is why there is to say that capitalism is at its end.
That is why there is to say that the capitalism that people knew, which once helped developing the world, is no more.
Now it is just an economic system rooted down on fragile legs, existing mostly for making a few dozen people in the world rich (rich with something that has no meaning in nature and that can’t feed you if there are no food items to buy with it), and even these big partakers actually just wish for getting well through the breakdown if it happens. Because they somehow know that this stripped down machinery isn’t gonna last forever anymore.
But changing the concept or coming down from their “standards” of greed, how much this shall be supposed to bring them in “gain”, is like blasphemy to them - like they’re going to break a leg if they once be content with their amounted mass of money and sacrifice some in order to keep their own base for a living upright.
So it is either up to you and me to come up with something else in time, to shift structures back or erect new ones as best as possible under that reign in order to secure our own well-being - because the people currently sitting at the levers that make the world go around won’t be willing to make that happen. They just sit and watch and try to figure out how much juice the lemon still exudes.
All the while not really caring for human life, animal life, plant life, civilization, health of the masses or mankind being still alive in a hundred years and in good shape, not degenerated.
So - what could be witnessed in the past year with Covid-19 is the expectation of what can be seen in the coming year. Maybe milder, probably rather worse...
‘Cause it cannot be forgotten that also vaccine manufacturers are just subjects interested in making money. - Guess what they do if someone else discovers or engineers are way better and more easier vaccine or treatment for the disease?
Of course, they’ll try to shut that one down and ruin that person... Even if it’s factually correct with what it has found/engineered.
The laws of a corrupted market full of predators are still intact, even though there is a plague out there.
So, let’s forge a summarization what there could be learned through the course of this year past...
One thing that, for sure, could be very clearly learned, wherever you lived on this planet: Capitalism is on its last legs. Or better say: It’s not the economy form anymore which can seemingly supply everyone with everything he/she needs. Also, it’s not the capitalism anymore that people used to know from glorious and wealthy times.
Why is that?
It’s because of the globalized economy that is around there now, that it has formed over decades, and the “development plan” of “let’s develop the world and bring supply and goods to the most difficult areas of the world” has shifted to “let’s make money with the least amount of work and investment” - which in practice means “minimal setup for everything, so that the circle of making money is still being kept up, but don’t think about the future or possible disturbances of that one setup for achieving something”. A wobbly base for supply with necessary goods.
As the virus went around the globe and other states than China and its East Asian neighbors realized that this is a topic that affects them also, this should have become very visible as nearly all countries of the world suddenly charged the market of face masks, disposable gloves and protection suits and found themselves getting way too few than needed because most of the production worldwide had been outsourced to China. - Here not the Middle Kingdom is to blame, but just greed, first world arrogance and a slightly racist mindset of Western enterprises which think like “things that have become minor activities which get paid just a few pennies - these can very well be done by some primitive people; for us this is beyond our standards”.
Enterprises and the big economy never wasted a thought about “What if there could suddenly be a spike in need?”, they didn’t care for a home-brew supply just in case whatever happens.
The only thing they cared about was their profit and about exploiting some folks in a country far away from their headquarters. And they have assured themselves of that never anything is going to happen which may break their concept how they had arranged the supply chains.
As the first countries had to operate with national lockdowns because of infection rates spiking, supply chains being more dominated by greed and thoughtlessness than anything else could be witnessed with food items.
At that time, and still it is so, some countries literally “had the task” to produce ware X and none else did that.
Why? Because of “planned economy”. “Planned economy” that doesn’t serve peoples’ needs and keeping up a public order, but just big enterprises and corporations making the most in profit with the least amount of bet - which had been arranged this way by corrupt politicians which realized the laws and legislature for that over decades.
Simultaneously, it became noticeable how many food items of particular types nationally were produced merely for exporting them to some other nation(s) - because then, these wares once remained in their countries of origin because the international trade and border traffic strongly reduced all by themselves.
So actually there’s a strong overproduction in particular goods just in favor of export in each country because some circumstances for creating them seemingly or factually fit advantageously for those who draw the most gain from the price of them and the separate national economies have been shifted to incredibly monocultures, leading to strong dependence on each other and therefore to fragile supply chains that break down as soon as anything on a larger scale strikes and disturbs their functionality. (Besides: Also leading to incredible one-sided ecological burdens).
Which, in the end, leads to countries producing some particular stuff in such large quantities that they could barely use them up themselves to supply their own people, and other stuff being produced in such few or no quantities that they’re literally fucked if they’re on their own for once.
This is not optimization of production and international “division of labor” according to the concept of David Ricardo. This is abuse of currency exchange courses for the sake of making dead substance called “money”, exploiting one people - the one that manages to be cheaper than all other -, playing multiple ends against the middle for no practical use of human society as a whole, destroying and ruining nature along the way, and even endangering the prosperity that mankind has made it to over centuries (because infrastructure already erected is being left to decay or to reduction due to costs, but which also results in decrease of performance, safety and stability). Including preventing other people from the 2nd or 3rd world countries getting to comparable levels of prosperity - because infrastructure in their countries sees no real development and investment into it anymore, other than if it is for broadening the circle of generating money for some far-away-living already wealthy person in a skyscraper.
During the year with Covid-19 around, witnessing time episodes through the natural seasons with more or lesser restrictions in each country, the overall global economy has a little adapted to the circumstances given - even though, noticeable in many spots and situations, against its will. Actually the big economy wanted to go on and act like nothing is wrong, like the virus and the disease doesn’t exist.
Supply chains have a little adapted through the course too because the countries and their national economies individually realized that this isn’t going to be over so soon and they are going to have to adapt if they want to evade chaos, bottlenecks and public panic - all, additionally, to their own personal disfavor too.
But, one point still remains as it was before: Protection clothes, masks and corona test kits still are being mostly produced and China and other East Asian countries. - The most important goods in order to actually manage and decrease this pandemic.
And the (capitalistically-organized) world economy doesn’t seem to see a problem with that. Forgotten are the troubles of the past spring in which the self-declared “wealthiest countries of the world” were running around like scared chicken and panicked over their lack of supply with basic medical goods for hygiene.
All progresses according to habit meanwhile... With nothing really learned from it.
That is why there is to say that capitalism is at its end.
That is why there is to say that the capitalism that people knew, which once helped developing the world, is no more.
Now it is just an economic system rooted down on fragile legs, existing mostly for making a few dozen people in the world rich (rich with something that has no meaning in nature and that can’t feed you if there are no food items to buy with it), and even these big partakers actually just wish for getting well through the breakdown if it happens. Because they somehow know that this stripped down machinery isn’t gonna last forever anymore.
But changing the concept or coming down from their “standards” of greed, how much this shall be supposed to bring them in “gain”, is like blasphemy to them - like they’re going to break a leg if they once be content with their amounted mass of money and sacrifice some in order to keep their own base for a living upright.
So it is either up to you and me to come up with something else in time, to shift structures back or erect new ones as best as possible under that reign in order to secure our own well-being - because the people currently sitting at the levers that make the world go around won’t be willing to make that happen. They just sit and watch and try to figure out how much juice the lemon still exudes.
All the while not really caring for human life, animal life, plant life, civilization, health of the masses or mankind being still alive in a hundred years and in good shape, not degenerated.
So - what could be witnessed in the past year with Covid-19 is the expectation of what can be seen in the coming year. Maybe milder, probably rather worse...
‘Cause it cannot be forgotten that also vaccine manufacturers are just subjects interested in making money. - Guess what they do if someone else discovers or engineers are way better and more easier vaccine or treatment for the disease?
Of course, they’ll try to shut that one down and ruin that person... Even if it’s factually correct with what it has found/engineered.
The laws of a corrupted market full of predators are still intact, even though there is a plague out there.