Coronavirus

The emergency room is a smog of coronavirus—and how could it not be? A person on a bed deprived of even the modesty of a curtain can’t be expected to keep a mask on for the eight or twelve hours they may be waiting there, before anyone comes to examine them. Those who end up waiting longer, as so many do, may get upgraded to a spot near the wall, which helps create the illusion of being in a room. One wall, after all, is one more than zero. This is how poor folks experience our health care system.

For authoritarian-minded leaders, the coronavirus crisis is offering a convenient pretext to silence critics and consolidate power.

Rob Wallace and Alex Liebman examine the grim realities of the Covid-19 pandemic today, and its structural causes in the capitalist destruction of both the natural world, and the commons of public health. Rob and Alex wrote the essay "Covid-19 and the Circuits of Capital" with Luis Fernando Chaves and Rodrick Wallace for Monthly Review. https://monthlyreview.org/2020/04/01/covid-19-and-circuits-of-capital/

From Crisis to a New Social Compact: An inclusive, intersectional feminist approach is the only way out of the COVID Crisis Download a PDF of the Statement SUMMARY: WIMN says that this is no time for business as usual. Without bold action, the crisis will compound global injustices and inequalities, further marginalizing women, people of color, migrants, informal economy workers, and other exploited groups. If we attempt to defeat a worldwide pandemic by erecting barriers and walls rather than elevating the universality of human rights and needs, we are doomed to fail and risk entrenchment ...

The Trump administration denies any wrongdoing, saying that the reports of US misconduct are "completely false."

"Taxpayers shouldn't be required to backstop oil and gas companies that were already in trouble prior to the pandemic."

That’s not what they’re for.

Hundreds of years of racism has delivered poor health and economic outcomes for black people, making them more vulnerable in the pandemic.

Welcome to the crisis which is not yet a catastrophe, to the pandemic which is not yet a plague, to the real which is not yet a desert. We are captive in a contest between clarity and confusion. The crisis strips the emperor of his clothes and reveals with sudden clarity the way the world More

Coronavirus has exposed capitalism as unable to meet our most basic needs, but that has never been enough for the Left. We need to develop democratic organizations and build our social power, even in the middle of a pandemic, to win.

Oil companies face severe problems now, but in the long run the industry giants may be bigger and even more dangerous to life on Earth.

Some policy experts are optimistic that victory over the coronavirus will instill greater appreciation for what government, science, and business can do to tackle climate change. But others believe the economic damage caused by the virus will set back climate efforts for years to come.

The Chinese lockdown has been “astounding, unprecedented, and medieval.” What does normalcy even look like afterward?

Multiple countries have acused the Trump administration of unfairly acquiring equipment necessary for fighting the ongoing coronavirus outbreak through 'wild west methods.'

The coronavirus pandemic and a chapter of history that should have expired long ago

In the surreal, suspended atmosphere characterizing our current predicament, it would be easy to focus our attention only on the catastrophe unfolding in front of our eyes, on the relentless cry of sirens breaking the silence of our emptied cities, on the counting of deaths and contagion, and on the looming economic depression. But this strange, anxious time we are experiencing is also filled with struggles, acts of solidarity, and processes of class composition and self-organization.

A compilation of links and videos, as of 4/7/20. Received from a faculty member at Union College, Schenectady, NY

Over the past few weeks, advocacy groups, veteran volunteers, and everyday residents across the five boroughs have stepped up to form groups and projects that assist vulnerable New Yorkers.

Payday Report has launched an interactive strike tracking map so that workers can follow the wave of strikes hitting the country. Each point contains a link to more information on the strikes...

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Young people who entered this financial downturn with fewer resources than previous generations are enduring pain.

Workers of the world, unite!

We must do everything that we can to create a new, just, equitable and ecologically regenerative economy. The question is: how?

Trump believes infection happens to some people because they are natural losers.

Although many have weathered racist remarks and some physical attacks over the virus, Chinese-Americans are tapping their deep social networks to procure medical supplies.

Since the days of Adam Smith, capitalists have been arguing that unfettered markets are the best way to organize the economy.

Capitalism is in an induced coma. When the crisis is over will a simple kiss awake it like Sleeping Beauty? Or will ‘all the king’s men’ be puzzling over ‘how to put Humpty together again’? The mor…

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication