Have we reached the end of capitalism? Not yet, but there are clear signs that its inherent limitations as an economic system makes it unable to promote social policies that favor health, education, and the welfare of societies in general. The United States is a perfect example, of what was once portrayed as the most dominant nation in the global community. Yet, it has taken less than 100 days since the arrival of the global pandemic on the U.S. soil to place the same nation in intensive care, as its health and economic system continue to break down in full view of its own citizens. To add insult to injury, instead of presenting national alternatives from different political sectors as to how to address health and economic issues, the U.S. media headlines mainly describe, and at times ridicule, President Donald Trump for his lack of leadership and inability to make appropriate and timely decisions. Is it the right moment to explore a different role for the state and look at different alternatives to governance? Let us analyze what are the fragilities of a capitalist economy.
Two Strategies with Different Outcomes
It is evident for the majority of U.S. citizens that the current market system, that places profits before people, has not been able to handle the COVID-19 crisis. It has been unable to resolve the health, employment, and social welfare of its citizens. One can also observe that the self-labeled liberal democracies give more credence and importance to the economic health of the financial markets and banking institutions before taking care of the health and security of citizens.
The dismal results from some countries’ dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic can be ascribed to haphazard decisions combined with lukewarm leadership that resulted in reactive, short term, off-the-cuff strategies which placed in peril the most vulnerable sectors of their societies.
In contrast, countries like China have implemented solid long-term social policies since the start of the pandemic. Such planned implementation of policies has effectively contained COVID-19. As a result of solid and mature actions by China, many cities have begun returning to a new normality with schools re-opening, people in shops, and everyone adhering to exemplary biosecurity norms. At the same time, the Chinese government has mobilized resources and professionals with firm and timely decisions that enabled it to construct hospitals within days, and had committed groups of professionals ready to assist the population, and ready to be mobilized within hours to different parts of the country. The world has observed sound political decisions that are a reflection of the leadership it needs.
The Disputable Leadership of Donald Trump
On the other side of the political spectrum, the U.S. government, has been unable to show leadership that could have allowed its own people to feel secure about the decisions that its leader could have taken to handle the global pandemic, once it reached U.S. borders. Instead, today we encounter a “paper tiger,” who first negated the severity of the global crisis at its initial stage, and then began to seek refuge through the scapegoating, or the creation of smoke screens, to cover its own failures. One smoke screen that recently was revealed by the international media involved a motley crew of ex-U.S. soldiers hired in a botched attempt at destabilizing the government in Venezuela. Another example of searching for a scapegoat is the U.S. attempt to strong arm the World Health Organization (WHO) and force it to blame China for the U.S. ineffectiveness in handling the health crisis, by cutting off its funding in the middle of a global health crisis, until the WHO changes its narrative as dictated by U.S. interests.
President Trump’s response to the crisis has been a short-sighted strategy of what limited leadership can envision for a country. Instead of making sound political decisions that could have saved thousands of American lives, the Trump administration has manipulated the global health crisis for domestic electoral purposes with a high cost of human lives that has so far amounted to over 1.5 million U.S. citizens infected with COVID/19 and over 90,000 deaths. The disconnection from reality has been a constant in Trump’s erratic public discourse. At times, he has dismissed the global pandemic, while at other times he has shown a false sense of bravado in front of the media. Some of these phrases include “this is the new hoax,” “Relax, all of this will go away…It is like the flu…. Do not worry, nothing is going to happen, keep calm…. It is all under control, folks…” or “the United States is prepared…the number of victims is low…”
However, the sobering reality of the health crisis in the U.S. has created a category of its own for the country, due to its poor decision-making coming from its leadership. On May 19, 2020, the United States holds the dismal country-record for the highest number of infected COVID-19 cases, along with the highest number of deaths directly related to the global pandemic. In addition to such tragic numbers, its market economy has not seen such gloomy economic projections since the great depression. Today unemployment figures stands at 14.7 percent, and that figure might reach 20 percent of its labor force very soon. These figures reflect 20.5 million people unemployed, with numbers steadily rising. Regrettably, lack of leadership in moments of crisis is nothing new in the U.S.
When Puerto Rico was hit by the hurricanes María and Irma, in mid-2017, instead of showing resolve to send immediate federal aid, Trump pretended that the island had very few victims or people left homeless. The sobering reality was different. The natural disaster had left over 2,982 fatalities, and lead to over US $90 billion worth of damages, mainly to homes and infrastructure within the island. In Trump’s only visit to the disaster zone, instead of showing leadership and empathy to the plight of the Puerto Rican families devastated by the natural catastrophe, in live-media coverage to a relief-shelter visit, his response was to throw paper towels to the few citizens present. His erratic behavior continued over the media as he criticized Carmen Yulín, the Mayor of San Juan who had labeled the effects of the natural disasters as a “terrifying humanitarian crisis,” and had dared to complain about the lack of action and inadequate response from the U.S. Federal government. Again, Trump manipulated the media along with the political momentum to favor a domestic political agenda to support the Republican Party and its economic sectors, instead of bringing medical and reconstruction aid to a population in dire need. The results of the Federal response to the 2017 natural disasters in Puerto Rico are consistent with how the current 2020 health crisis is being handled, in that U.S. profits must come before people.
Today, Trump continues his farce by negating reality and being deceitful to the international community with either science-fiction tales about the origins of the COVID-19 virus, or generating xenophobia intent in its own territory against Chinese-Americans. In addition, the U.S. has criticized the international role played by China, as it comes to the aid of the different regions around the world. These attempts by Trump to slander China, have been labeled as reckless as well as being condemned by the international community, including the WHO. As a result of such irresponsible behavior from a country leader, the international media quickly began to chastise Trump’s approach, forcing him to recognized the gravity of the health situation in his country. He still opted to freeze much-needed funding destined to the WHO as he attempted to establish a blame narrative towards China for all the damages caused by the pandemic; views dismissed by the scientific community, and the international community at large. Once again, Trump prioritized profits over people while citizens continue to die on U.S. soil.
This appears to be a new U.S. image. Today, the self-defined “most important democracy in the world” is a mere caricature of a country, submerged in poor leadership, a total crisis, and with no end in sight.
We have witnessed how major liberal democracies – supported by the economic interests of the U.S. – have invested millions, and at times billions of dollars, to protect the financial market and its banking centers, instead of sending a message of solidarity to the millions of workers within the U.S. who either live on low salaries or survive with day to day casual earnings. Since March, the U.S. Congress has prepared economic aid packages to U.S. families and its labor force as well as small businesses, but much of this aid has gone to large enterprises that include some fossil-fuel companies linked to the Trump officials. Once again, corporate business in the U.S. was chosen first to receive the COVID-19 aid package over the country’s large mass of vulnerable workers.
Essential Questions to Ask During This Crisis
In this socio-political context, it is essential, as citizens, to ask some questions about the use of the national budgets. Let’s use the U.S. as an example:
At a National Level:
Why doesn’t the U.S. reassign part of its US $721.5 billion military budget to shore up hospitals in need of personnel, medical equipment and supplies to effectively handle the current health crisis?
Why don’t we see the U.S. armed forces medical personnel in low-income communities made up of African Americans and Latinos within the large urban settings across the country or in White poor rural sectors being affected by the pandemic?
What prevents the U.S. Congress from reviewing the national minimum wage to support workers present in essential services, agricultural, and manufacturing industries?
What prevents the U.S. Congress from promulgating a comprehensive law to offer universal medical insurance to its population to ensure that families would have health protection, even when there is a loss of employment, as is the case of these pandemic times?
What are the obstacles that prevent Congress, the Executive office, and the major economic sectors of the country, to sit down in a collective fashion to generate long-lasting, socio-economic policies that promote employment with equity for the labor force and a social safety net for the poor majority of unprotected workers?
? What prevents the influential economic sectors within the U.S. to search for general agreements to offer some levels of financial security and opportunities to seek employment for those who have lost their income?
At an International Level:
Why does the U.S. insist on maintaining embargoes of industrial equipment, production materials, technology, food and medical supplies to Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran? What does the U.S. gain, at an international level, by preventing societies from obtaining crucial goods to ensure the well-being of their societies, especially during this global health crisis?
What does the U.S. gain from increasing friction at the international level, by adding trade tariffs among country partners that include medical goods and supplies?
Why hasn’t the U.S. sat down with China to renegotiate bilateral agreements to increase additional trade of goods to improve the lives of citizens at a global level?
Why does the U.S. continue to maintain armed forces across international waters and in foreign lands, when these resources can be reassigned to improve the health infrastructure and access to food for low income communities across the entire country?
What economic sectors benefit by the U.S. increasing its nuclear arms budget from $37.2 billion to $44.5 billion for fiscal year 2021? With such funding: How many hospitals, schools, in the U.S. can be upgraded? With this money how many U.S. prisons can receive proper COVID-19 testing equipment or bio-protective gear and how many unemployed workers can receive a basic healthcare package?
If a small country like Cuba can send medical personnel to many parts of the world, what prevents the U.S from adhering to an international solidarity banner to help other nations in need, by strengthening its health response to the COVID-19 crisis?
A More Humane Alternative Needed
All of the above questions regarding the U.S. can be made by regular informed citizens and some of the questions might even apply to other market driven democracies. As we get closer to the November electoral process in the U.S., it is also important to ask if the current government, led by Donald Trump, is the type of leadership that the 21st century needs in times of a global health crisis to promote international solidarity.
Today, the stark reality on the ground reveals millions of U.S. citizens do not have access to a basic health care system. As readers, we must start asking if this is the type of leadership that U.S. citizen’s need, where denial, deceit, and deaths are the only consistent outcomes that can be observed from the current administration.
The economic and social inequities that are present in large sectors of the U.S. society make it clear that the market system will always place profits before people. It is vital to seek a more humane and caring alternative within our global community. It is also our responsibility, and on behalf of future generations, to seek socio-political transformation and become an active part of the change.
As we witness the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on national economies, and its negative effects unravel before our very own eyes, it is clear that capitalism and its market system lack the answers that societies seek. It is time to envision other systems that are more sustainable than the current one.
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ARTURO RAMíREZ MORáN is a professor at the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, in Ecuador.
