economicupdate

The Pandemic's Lesson About Capitalism (Patreon)

Published:

2020-06-28 12:58:50

Imported:

2020-07

Content

[S10 E25] New

On this week's show, Prof. Wolff argues that preparing and coping with the Corona pandemic was inadequate: medical supplies were seriously deficient. It simply was not profitable for firms to produce or stockpile the supplies. Neo-liberal governments were complicit with private profit capitalists rather than compensating for their inadequacies. The lesson: many basic social needs are needed, like public health. We cannot, need not, and should not rely on capitalists to meet them. Alternatives are available.

Files

Economic Update: The Pandemic's Lesson About Capitalism

Preparing and coping with the Corona pandemic was inadequate: medical supplies were seriously deficient. That was because it was not profitable for firms to produce or stockpile the supplies. Neo-liberal governments were complicit with private profit capitalists rather than compensating for their inadequacies. The lesson: many basic social needs are like public health. We cannot, need not, and should not rely on capitalists to meet them. Alternatives are available.