Coronism

Draconian measures are being imposed on us, the peoples of the world. The question is; is this a good thing or a bad thing? Social life has come to a virtual stand-still in most Western Countries, because politicians are acting from anxiety and are purposely using fear as a weapon of power. I see the coronavirus as the butterfly that flapped it wings in China and now the Butterfly Effect is influencing and changing the lives of billions. More questions need to be asked and the first one is always 'cui bono?' (Who will benefit?).The second question or command would have been proposed by the School of Athens: 'seek first cause'. Since the time when Central Bankers started to lend money to governments, companies and people, the capitalistic drive has delivered wealth for a few, but at the cost of poverty and indebtedness for the many. So this rigged capitalist system has resulted in 'bono' for the privileged few, but the first cause has resulted in the increase of poor people all over the world. And it is 'poverty,' - the cause of the disturbing of the natural balance, which drives poor people at wet markets to scavenge nature in search of edible animals to sell. They did not think about viruses possibly jumping from animals to humans, because no one told them. Their government did not educate them, thus causing them to ignore information. The only choice they had was either to hunt any living creature or to die of hunger. So, in short, it is poverty that is driving our world into disorder, entropy as it is called. Nature is using the coronavirus as its tool to make clear that no more meddling with nature will be condoned. Social disturbance drives people into despair and therefore they have no other choice than to do absolutely anything in order to survive. Abraham Maslow was right when he wrote that basic physiological needs have to be met first. But despite the information that governments have about how to create and sustain a social cohesion, it has no priority. Politicians serve other interests first like serving the wealthy, allowing the destruction of the environment, supporting left or right wing ideologies. Social cohesion, the protection of human and non human life, usually comes second. But today, at least, they are pretending they'd do anything to protect life; they realise they could be the next patients themselves as they suddenly realise their own exposure to the virus and hence their vulnerability. The fact that meanwhile thousands are dying of malnutrition, perishing in refugee camps, or dying in western-backed armed conflicts is ignored, as if that is business as usual: they accept it as collateral damage. But we have to look closer to possible hidden agendas that have been researched by many journalists and scientists. The power in the hands of politicians at this moment is unprecedented. They just tell a restaurant owner to close his restaurant. When he asks 'but how will I survive?' he is given a form to fill in to claim lost income. 'But how can I pay the rent, my staff, where shall I live in a few months‘ time?' He will receive no answer. This, of course, causes more uncertainty. Preventing businesses from operating will cause even more poverty, until, I predict, rebellion and civil wars will break out, because when people lose it all, they also lose their minds. Therefore people are already forbidden to gather in large numbers, they are confined to their homes,  travelling is banned, streets are patrolled by the police, and borders are being closed. First priority remains to ensure that the current, negative interdependent capitalist, economic and financial system is protected. People, life, you and me, as usual, are of secondary importance. And as long as this destabilising system is being enforced, fascism will become the only way to sustain it, to impose it. Globalisation and centralisation of power has been the main driver of instability for the last decades. If these politicians and oligarchs want to stay in power, only fascism will keep them there. Millions of small and midsize businesses will perish if these draconian measures remain enforced. Who will pay for that? You? Me? The governments? Of course banks would love to lend us the money to live on, keep stock markets booming, but our global debt has become unpayable, so only erasure of all debt can save society. More debt would definitely put us on the road to serfdom as Friedrich Hayek wrote in 1947, because only a meek populace would endure it, accept it, because they too are frozen by fear. Fear is the weapon of choice, so we, the people,  must either start using it to stabilise society or we shall suffer the consequences. Writing articles or posting on Linkedin will not be enough. We have to stand up, hand in hand to protect our civil liberties. Of course, some will die from coronavirus complications, but I’d rather die fighting for justice and liberty for all.

A solution can not only be found in philosophy, but in systems science and cybernetics as the sciences of governance and control. All we have to do is obtain information, for example testing everyone to know how many people are infected so they can be isolated, but this testing has not been a priority yet, because we are told that testing materials are not available. When we have ALL information, it can be used as the energy to manage the situation much better. Meanwhile we need to build ‘requisite variety’, which means to create the capabilities, obtain the knowledge, build the hospitals, organise mass testing for all, to mitigate the risks. When we’d focus on these priorities, we may have a better chance.Politicians do not often understand that these tools can help them steer and manage a situation that has spun out of control such as the Corona Virus outbreak.

NB. The School of Athens. This is a realm where the power of philosophy and reason, as opposed to faith, seems to dominate.