Coronavirus

March 2024 Forums General discussion Coronavirus

Viewing 15 posts - 151 through 165 (of 1,593 total)
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  • #196003
    Jack_higgon
    Participant

    Bijou makes a very important point. Rather like climate change, the human race has collectively been aware of the risks of a pandemic for ages. Worse, we’ve had the means to mitigate or even prevent it. But the powers that be chose not to do this, instead putting their business interests first. The only reason we are in this situation is because our system of society puts profit before people. Seems to me that is one of the main arguments as to why capitalism is at fault here.

    #196005
    wheatwa46ar
    Participant

    Sorry guys but I am only just getting up to date with events on this forum.

    Must say I am surprised that there isn’t a lot of happy, motivated people on here who are talking about the successes they are having at work or elsewhere, due to Covid19 and its impact, in getting people to think about a world ordered in a different way, namely a socialist way. Work colleagues are showing far more interest and can see the failures in the system we now have and are asking more about socialist ideas.

    So don’t spend your time on this forum or any other social media talking about Johnson,Trump etc. Get the message across to working class people everywhere.

    Why as a party are we worried about our own EC meetings and summer school? why are we not putting ourselves up for debates on radio, television on a post capitalist world? If it doesn`t  happy this time it is only a matter of time before a far nastier virus or some other crises rears its head.

    Come on SPGB this is the best opportunity for years!

     

     

    #196059
    robbo203
    Participant

    Come on SPGB this is the best opportunity for years!

    I agree wheatwa46ar – although organisationally it mught be a setback for the SPGB in terms of organising meetings , selling literature , holding summer schools etc.   We can limit the damage in that regard by getting all members and sympathisers connected up via the internet for instance and by taking certain other measures.

     

    However in terms of breaking the mould of politics.  I think this pandemic is going to have a profound effect on the way people think about the world. In so many ways it makes the case for socialism so much more relevent and appealing

     

     

    #196060
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Looks as if Trump is acting quicker and going further than the British government, by giving every US citizen a check for $1,000.

    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/salvadorhernandez/coronavirus-trump-mnuchin-1000-check-economy

    What is that? About two weeks wages? That won’t go very far but it’s not every day that the government gives everybody something for nothing.

    #196063
    Bijou Drains
    Participant

    And presumably you take the cheque (sic) to the bank, along with all of the other citizens and spread the virus even further!

    #196066
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    You can make a bank deposit with  a smartphone using it as a scanner

    #196068
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    The big paycheck is for the corporations which are going to get an $850.00 billion bailout compared to $150 billions for the US citizen. Bernie Sanders is asking for $2,000 every month

    #196089
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Actually it is so-called “helicopter money” defined by Oliver Kamm in his column in the Times last week entitled “To rescue the economy, summon the helicopter and do a money drop” (13 March) as:

    The Bank of England could in effect create money and then distribute it direct to consumers. It’s known as helicopter money, on the model of a helicopter drop of banknotes to anyone underneath who’s lucky enough to pick them up.” 

    The idea is to increase aggregate demand and get the faltering economy expanding again. It’s been tried in Japan and Taiwan with the same trivial amount per person. But didn’t work because the capitalist economy isn’t driven by consumer (or for that matter government) demand. It’s driven by profitable capital investment. Without that, you can put as much water in front the capitalist horse as you like, but it won’t drink.

    It’s not really got anything to do with helping people survive the loss of income many are suffering through the Coronavirus virus and the effect on the economy of the measures the US government has taken to combat it. But it’s useful to give this impression especially in a presidential election year.

     

    #196093
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Imposs1904 has drawn attention to this amusing headline in an Australian newspaper:

    “Conventional capitalism is dying: Macquarie warns

    Macquarie analysts say the world could be tilting back toward an economic system that’s more like communism”

    Mind you, as Marcos has pointed out, this does seem to be the end of so-called “neo-liberalism”.

     

     

    #196099
    robbo203
    Participant

    That’s weird – I post something on this thread but the post doesn’t appear.  Any ideas Matt?

    #196100
    robbo203
    Participant

    It did include a video link – could that be the reason?

    #196101
    PartisanZ
    Participant

    That’s weird – I post something on this thread but the post doesn’t appear. Any ideas Matt?

    I have no idea. You should have got an alert if you left the page while the text hadn’t been posted.

    Repost it.

    #196121
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    Dismissing the conspiracy theories that COVID-19 was a bioweapon

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18314818.coronavirus-not-bioweapon-created-lab-scientists-say/

    #196148
    robbo203
    Participant

    Could America become the new epicentre of the virus?

    On the Front Lines of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Doctor’s View

    Also this

     

    • This reply was modified 4 years ago by robbo203.
    #196156
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    This crisis has proven our argument that the state is financed with surplus value , without surplus value the state must reduce its benefits and social service, specially medical services, and food for the poor,

    The  USA is not prepared to confront this epidemic, which is spreading like a fire, there are not enough hospitals,  beds, doctors, medical equipment, planning, prevention, now nobody can talk about shithole countries, even more, American are crossing the Mexican border to buy supplies and medications, and some are running away from the epidemic

    The billions of dollars  spent on the Mexican wall is wasted and gone and only benefited the contractors and others investors , as well, billions was spent on military hardwares instead of bread and butter and medical infrastructures.

    Proven that nationalism doesn’t work for the working class it is only a tool used by the capitalist class

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