Covid has accelerated the decline of the West and rise of the East — why we should embrace it

Affirmation of the truth that it’s only in a crisis that you find out who you really are has been provided in pristine fashion by Covid19. It’s shown the world that it is those societies undergirded most by the anarchy of the free market that have seen two things, 1) body counts which refute utterly their right to boast of superior cultures and cultural values to their counterparts across the Global South, and 2) the alarming traction of conspiracy theory in denial of, if not the virus itself, its seriousness and the social obligation to adhere to basic public health measures in response — i.e. social distancing, track and trace, and wearing masks in enclosed spaces such as shops and supermarkets.

I’m writing specifically here of the UK and the US, those antipodes of neoliberal economics and values, which in simple terms amount to the embrace of the supposed virtues of individual selfishness and a rejection of the implied malice of social solidarity.

Compare and contrast China’s inordinately successful efforts in tackling Covid-19 with the shambolic and failed efforts of the UK and US. Whereas China has at time of this writing recorded 4,512 deaths from 91,170 cases, the UK has recorded 42,515 deaths from 544k cases, with US recording 212k deaths from 7.85m…