Capitalism and COVID-19

Noel Chellan is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology Department, School of Social Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has published articles on environmental and developmental issues and a book: Capital An Energy Perspective.

Preface


Acknowledgements


Acronyms and Abbreviations


1 Capitalism – the Violent Enemy of Nature

 1  covid -19 and the Arrival of Nature


 2 Capitalism’s Mad Rush for Energy – Tipping Earth’s Delicate Temperature Balance


 3 The Ideology of Profit-Accumulation under Capitalism


 4 Man – Nature’s Own


 5 Where Do the Children Play?




2 The Ideological State Largely Siding with the Capitalist Economy in the War with covid -19

 1 Declaring War on an Invisible but Known Enemy


 2 The Capitalist State: Siding with the Profit-Economy and Relinquishing Its Immense Power to Save Lives in the Time of War


 3 A Synopsis of How the West Dealt with Previous Wars in Comparison to the War on covid -19


 4 It’s the Profit Economy – Stupid!




3 Death, Despair, Depression, Discrimination and Dogma in the Time of covid -19

 1 Unpacking Aspects of the Human Condition in the Time of covid -19


 2 Death and Despair


 3 Mental Health, Isolation, Loneliness and Fear


 4 Discrimination


 5 Domestic Violence


 6 Religion – the Opium of the Masses in the Time of a Global Pandemic




4 Unrest, Rebellion and Revolt in the Time of covid -19

 1 Unrest, Rebellion and Revolt in the Time of covid -19


 2 Capitalist Society: a Society of Wealth and Poverty – but Also of Unrests and Violent Revolutions


 3 Capitalist Society: a Class Society above All Else




5 In Search of Rights, Freedom, Democracy and Liberty in the Capitalist World

 1 People Protests: Terrorism in the US – but a Beautiful Sight in Hong Kong


 2 Democracy and Human Rights in the West in General and in Capitalist Countries in Particular – in the Time of covid -19


 3 The Free Market and Censoring the President of the Free World


 4 United States: the Country Where Liberty Is a Statue


 5 Rights, Liberty, Democracy and Freedom: Born out of Blood, Sweat and Tears




6 Making Sense of Science and Scientists in the Time of covid -19

 1 States and Their Citizens – Led by Science or Capitalist Ideologies?


 2 Economic Science – the Dominating Science or Ideology in the Age of Capitalism and in the Time of covid -19


 3 The Economic Scientists Who Rule over Nature, Humans, Society and the State in the Age of Capitalism


 4 Science – the Roadmap to a Better World




7 An Ideological Awakening A World Different to that of Capitalism Was Glimpsed

 1  covid -19 and Revealing the Real World through Ideological Unlayering


 2  covid -19 and People-Centred State Planning and Execution


 3 The Rebirth of Communal Man in the Time of covid -19


 4 The Emergence of Socialist Man: Comrades in the Struggle against covid -19


 5 Rediscovering Time, Freedom and Happiness


 6 Pragmatic, Practical and Common-Sense Man Emerges from the Cobwebs of Capitalist Ideologies


 7 The Great Resignation


 8 And the People Began to Think Differently




8 State Lobbying and Planning for Building-Back Capitalism

 1 The Nanny State and Building-Back Capitalism


 2 State Lobbying and Planning for the Extensive and Intensive Exploitation of Nature


 3 State Lobbying and Planning for the Extensive and Intensive Exploitation of Labour


4 Capitalism – Like Communism or Democratic Socialism –Is a Planned Economy




9 Talk of a New World Order in the Time of covid -19

1 Talk of a New World Order


2  covid -19: the Bridge to a Post-capitalist World




10 Democratically Planning a New World Order

1 Exploring Ideas and Spheres of Influence for a Post-capitalist World


2 Placing Humans Back in Nature and Nature Back in Humans: Toward a Global Environmental Movement


3 Exploring an O-shaped or Use-Value Economy and Society


4 Freedom, Democracy, Free Choice, Human Rights and Privacy in a Post-capitalist World


5 Making the Free Market Serve People and Planet – Instead of the People and Planet Serving the Free Market


6 Declaring War on Global Enemies and Flattening Their Curves


7 Planetary and People Well-Being Side-by-Side with the Health of the Economy


8 Toward a Global Workers Movement


9 Deepening, Strengthening, Consolidating and Trusting the People’s State in Transitioning to a Post-capitalist World


10 Toward Advancing, Deepening and Consolidating the Economic Sciences


11 Knowing Capitalism


12 14 March: End-Capitalism Day


13 Marching and Protesting against the Capitalist System


14 A Willing and Peaceful Transformation or an Inevitable Violent Revolution?


15 Capitalism – This Too Shall Pass!




11  Imagine A Better World Is Waiting to Be Born


Bibliography


Index