Probably the only good thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the groundswell of support that it is generating for progressive policy ideas. While many Americans have grown up to the teachings of the free market gospel, this crisis will dispel that illusion. Western culture often teaches that capitalism is the system of entrepreneurship, the state serves only to impede creativity, and that only the free market can stand the test of time; however, when a free market system is forced into quarantine for just two weeks, the nation heads toward a recession.
Although recessions appear to be a pretty constant feature of capitalism, another hint at its inherent flaws, this drop in the market has provided key insights. Deemed “essential workers,” the low-wage, blue-collar laborers must remain at work in order to sustain the population. More important than the top-level executives like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, it’s the average American who has been deemed necessary. From this realization, the workers are beginning to realize how much power they could amass and are demanding policy change.
These policy demands have often started when the state rolls back some archaic and obsolete regulation, and everyone simultaneously says, “I knew that rule was stupid!” The best example of this is that airlines are now allowing bottles of hand sanitizer larger than three ounces. Amazingly, this has not led to an increase in terrorism. This policy, though rather trivial, was the first in a cascade of similar realizations.
Many jurisdictions are no longer detaining nonviolent or drug-offending convicts. Once again, this has not lead to a significant increase in runaway criminals who skipped their court dates or went on a murder spree. Perhaps our for-profit justice system only detains these individuals because of some racial prejudices in the police force, or simply to fill the jails.
Arguably one of the most important examples of how the crisis has illustrated where society’s priorities should be is the issue of tenant rights. As much of America is unable to work, much of America is not earning an income, and is therefore unable to pay rent. Landlords, for the most part, do not care. According to Vox, management companies across the nation have been informing their tenants that their health and well-being is top priority… right behind rent. These leeches to society oftentimes have no other form of income besides charging people exorbitant prices for shelter.
A potential solution that many tenants are turning to is the rent strike. This means that, when faced with an unavoidable expense while their income is gone, they simply do not pay it. Just as low-wage workers are beginning to realize that they hold power, they are the ones who run the world, and they are the ones who create wealth, tenants are realizing that the landlord has no power if they choose not to pay.
The moral of this story is that the current power dynamics in Western politics and economics are not set in stone. The 1% controls the actions of the 99%, but it does not have to be that way. COVID-19 has shown the importance of access to healthcare and a livable wage. More importantly, it has proven that the rich cannot survive without the poor.
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