As disaster capitalists work out ways of keeping “the economy” afloat or even resurgent after this crisis, what about the rest of us?
And what does “the economy” even mean, in the current context? Looking at the collapse of the stock market, in the any absence of new natural resource scarcity, it rather suggests that the economy is people. But for many witnessing Johnson’s and Sunak’s botched moves so far, the economy appears to mean their friends in the banking, insurance, aviation and insurance industries.
But what of the people? Those currently being forced to choose between “health and hardship”, as John McDonnell puts it? Between lives and livelihoods? What safety net is there for us if we “do the right thing”? Because that safety net is absolutely critical right now. As the New York Times tells us:
