Covid-19 in the History of Capitalism

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PDF (open in a new window) EPUB (open in a new window) Share ABSTRACT The obvious role of capital in generating poverty, war, and environmental breakdown has not led to a parallel recognition of how deeply it shapes the ideology and practice of healthcare. Progressives view access to healthcare as a matter of “right,” but with rare exceptions they do not focus attention on the wider determinants of health policy – from the life-conditions that shape public health to the prevalence, in capitalist countries, of market-inspired remedies. Looking at the US experience and noting how capitalist priorities have permeated official policies toward Covid-19, this essay discusses how medical objections to these policies have been marginalized and how critiques that might otherwise have informed a socialist agenda have instead been weaponized by right-wing ideologues.

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