Unprecedented experience. COVID-19
Clara Schor Landman1
I.
Has the logic of capitalism imploded? Has biological nature unleashed its destructive side upon humankind? Was it a surprise or predictable? We know little, almost nothing. For now, we know that isolation, new hygiene practices, and a period of quarantine are necessary to reduce the virus's spread.
There are no cures, no vaccine yet. Health services are overflowing with patients, supplies are scarce, and care is prioritized by age: the youngest go first. Doctors, nurses, and orderlies are also infected. A dreadful feeling of subjective and social helplessness; an enemy lives among us, indiscriminately affecting us all.
An invisible enemy preys upon us, robbing us of the subjective power to choose and decide, imposing quarantine. A twisting of our subjectivity into objectivity, we are decided according to the whims of the plague. Defenseless against reality, impossible to symbolize, horrifying to bear in the face of contagion on a geometric scale and the risk of death.
I recall that some time ago, Jorge Alemán stated that whatever the possible characterization of capitalism in its neoliberal mutation, one fact remains: its unlimited nature. It behaves like a headless force, expanding without limit to the very edge of life.
Neoliberal mutation, as the capacity to produce subjectivities that configured an individualistic, entrepreneurial, competitive and managerial paradigm of existence itself.
II.
In March 2020, the neoliberal paradigm collapsed. The pandemic showed that unity and solidarity are necessary and sufficient conditions, with everyone staying home for the common goal of being a responsible part of society in reducing the spread of the coronavirus. It's no longer about "people" or "neighbors," but as J. Butler pointed out, "we—among others—the people is an enunciation that seeks to give rise to the social plurality it names."
That is, a common and subjective goal to reduce the enjoyment - mortuary satisfaction - of the drive that the brute force of the plague exerts on us.
Responsible people, responsible citizens in conjunction with a responsible State.
The experience we are going through is already giving signs; on the one hand, it is evident that neoliberalism does not know and is not interested in human catastrophes, it follows the logic of business, of finance, it rejects the State responsible for health, housing, education and the environment as citizens' rights.
On the other hand, we are faced with the problem that some irresponsible people abuse their rights, renounce their responsibility, and are willing to put others and themselves at risk.
The media also has a social responsibility; however, sometimes they strive to make sense of false arguments that seem true instead of informing the community: a group of people who come together and interact due to common values and problems.
III.
Just as capitalism established the premise "everything is possible," "everything is permitted," the State, in the wake of the global coronavirus, is now establishing the opposite premise: "not everything is possible." Prevention, restrictions, regulations, deprivations, limits, changes in the way of life of individuals as well as of social groups, controls, and sanctions for those who do not cooperate in the shared responsibility.
This unprecedented experience marks a turning point; nothing will ever be the same. What to say? What to do? For now, it's about learning to lose. Learning to lose knowledge, beliefs, customs, lifestyles.
With the ability to lose gracefully, could a cultural shift be possible: replacing the criteria of capitalist politics with criteria of social policy? What other connections could be for the individual's inner world and collective imaginaries?
Social principles in tension with the principles of capital. Necessary construction of other narratives for the times.
IV.
We don't know. Two references for the problem raised:
“Creating a culture involves exercising power. There is no society without power conflict.”
Gramsci
“Social responsibility in democratic life means providing services to society linked to the necessary individual commitment to one's own society.”
“Social responsibility is measured by the impact that a subject's decision has on society.”
Aristotle
[1] Co-coordinator of the CLACSO Working Group on Social Studies for Health. Joint coordination with Carolina Tetelboin and Daisy Iturrieta. Professor at UNDAV, Argentina.
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