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Lockdown Lesson 101: Can We Survive Without Capitalism?

Being myopic about our current predicament, or—for lack of a better analogy, being short-sighted—the entire world is busy reeling in from the corona catastrophe; people are being displaced in large numbers, but at the same time, a vast majority is stuck within their houses, enjoying a semi-paid vacation in absolute desolation. The world that we used to live in is on a hiatus – indefinitely!

Additionally, the virus has, as of now, infected almost four million people worldwide. In times like these, you cannot help but think, “What if it had been me?” It is only natural to do so. Folks across the world, living on limited resources, have developed a newfound humility and sense of gratitude – almost within a span of a month. Bluntly speaking, all of this has been overwhelming, to say the least. It’s no wonder that the global mood is that of shared trauma. At the end of the tunnel, we may come out very different from how we went in.

There is, however, another way to look at this—by retroactively analysing the world we have left behind.

People should not be punished for a bad economy – a lack of non-governmental spending shouldn’t result in the disintegration of society as we know it.

A World Full Of Excess

It’s not true that we had been living under the luxury of an uber-comfortable existence. However, I’d be lying if I said that it was anything less than appealing in concept, given the conditions right now. Truth be told, the world we have effectively left behind, was one of ‘waste’ – wasteful spending, consumption, and a general sense of excess. From top to bottom, comfort and luxury had become the prime directive, unlike survival and sustenance that we have come to value now.

The world that was abuzz in January over the three-way fight amongst Samsung, Huawei, and Apple – all of it has turned to dust now, as people cannot imagine shelling out a minor fortune on things they can otherwise do without. It’s these conglomerates who are feeling the pinch, but their pains are being amplified towards the population through crashing markets and a general sense of doom and gloom.

However, I fail to fall for these trappings! If the common person is unable to support the bigger, private bodies of the world through monetary means, by no means does s/he deserve to be punished through a failing economy. The ship is currently at a stand-still – private players are boring a hole at the bottom and letting the water seep in.

But it does not have to be this way. People should not be punished for a bad economy – a lack of non-governmental spending shouldn’t result in the disintegration of society as we know it.

The fact that this is something that is actively happening, makes one wonder whether there is a faulty hole in the system, and the ship is too under the water to be saved successfully.

Note: The article was originally published here.

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