Those who believe in reformed capitalism, such as Paul Collier, are mistaken. With grim clarity, 2020 revealed the deep problems that capitalism causes in our societies. The system’s devastating internal logic will never change, argues Joti Brar. 

As we turn our backs with relief on 2020, we can’t help but ask: what does the future hold? Will 2021 bring some respite? Sadly, in the short term, the answer is a decided ‘no’. As long as a capitalist economic system remains in place we can only expect more of the same.

 2020 showed us that we don’t need to wait for the future to find ourselves living in a capitalist dystopia. The double whammy of economic and health crises have made it abundantly clear that the dystopia is already here.

Britain’s pandemic was avoidable

Contrary to the narrative that is being pushed hard in Britain’s compliant media, it was not a vaccine that we needed to save us from the nightmare of 2020 but simple health measures.

The rational, people-centred approach of governments like China’s and Cuba’s have demonstrated that most of the British casualties were entirely avoidable. Britain’s predicted death toll is 100,000 of a 65 million population. China’s death toll is below 5,000 out of 1.4 billion.

With straightforward measures, the first lockdown might not have been necessary in the first place. Lockdowns are a blunt instrument and an admission that the situation is out of control. We needed mass testing, fully supported isolation, to close ports except for essential goods and the centrally-resourced creation of covid-secure workplaces, schools, factories and hospitals (including utilizing those in the private sector).