As the world reels from the Covid-19 pandemic, states have moved with impressive speed to support businesses with grants and loans. Such assistance during a crisis is crucial for protecting basic social structures, but – as many commentators have emphasised – the kinds of support now bestowed by governments will have an enormous impact on the societies that emerge from the crisis.
The financial crisis of 2008 amply demonstrated this: firms and financial institutions tumbled towards oblivion and were saved by unprecedented state intervention. Yet bailouts left basic structures intact – this was a massive, coordinated, global effort to rescue the capitalist system and re-establish it with precious little reform.
Therefore we must bear in mind that, while the current crisis is a great opportunity for the Left, progressive change will not happen automatically. It requires political engagement and collective action to shape, disseminate and implement the policies that will underpin the post-pandemic world.
