How Capitalism Escalated Covid-19 from a Virus to an Economic Crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic impacts the lives of everyone in the U.S — not just because the virus is killing hundreds of people every day, but also because capitalist policies exasperate the effects of the virus, from just-in-time delivery to non-essential workers being forced to act as agents of capitalist values.
Although the president and his administration try to shift the blame for the spread of the virus on China, it is actually the just-in-time delivery model that is to blame. Just-in-time delivery is a common method by which big businesses, like Walmart, Apple, and McDonald’s (to name a few), minimize their products held in stock and directly respond to customer orders. This results in extremely frequent interactions between sellers and manufacturers. That is, manufacturers like the ones who are most commonly located in China, at 21% during 2018. This same process is also what caused the shortage of personal protective equipment like masks. China is the main producer of masks worldwide and when the small supply kept in the U.S. ran out, businesses looked to mask manufacturers to supply the demand. That did not happen, however, as by that time there was a global shortage — an increasing demand that could not be met. In this way, just-in-time delivery was a cause of both the quick spread of the virus and the shortage of protective equipment.
Capitalist values influenced the U.S. government to prioritize businesses over people at the start of the coronavirus and during its response. At least 50% of Federal grants and loans went into helping businesses, in comparison to the 20% that went into helping individuals and 16% that went to fighting the health crisis. Companies were bailed out by the government, but 12.6 million people are still unemployed as of September. Stimulus checks were given out in April — it is now late October and there has still not been a second check. The poor and homeless cannot be expected to survive on one modest stimulus check for 6 months. Homeless people are expected to be more likely to suffer and die from the virus than the average person, and it is not as if they can socially distance or stay at home. Companies were expected to keep workers on by a certain date to receive funding, but many lost their jobs after that date was reached, so helping companies did not necessarily result in helping workers.
Being unemployed during this crisis is disastrous, but being employed could be even worse. Essential workers are heroes for serving their community even when faced with a pandemic. However, there are some workers who are not essential that have been branded as such. Liquor, marijuana, and gun retailers are classified as essential workers in certain states and are put at risk of contracting the virus, simply to make a profit for big companies. Similarly, workers in meat plants are at a far greater risk of getting Covid-19 than workers in other industries. The president signed an executive order that forced these unessential industries to stay open without any extra safety precautions and regardless of their impact on workers, the environment, and animals. The profits derived from industry were once again prioritized over health and safety.
Capitalism has influenced the nation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic a lot, but moreover, socialist values have also influenced that response. Stimulus checks, preventing companies from firing workers, and being grateful to essential workers are policies and values that stem from a socialist basis. If more of the country had believed the gravity of the virus and had recognized the need to prevent the government from prioritizing profit over safety, the state of both national health and the economy could be much better.
