pandemic 2

PANDEMIC!
should do, should also be the impossible—what appears
impossible within the coordinates of the existing world
order. The impossible happened, our world has stopped,
AND impossible is what we have to do to avoid the worst,
which is—what?
I don’t think the biggest threat is a regression to
open barbarism, to brutal survivalist violence with public
disorders, panic lynching, etc. (although, with the
collapse of health and some other public services, this
is also possible). More than open barbarism I fear barbarism
with a human face—ruthless survivalist measures
enforced with regret and even sympathy, but legitimized
by expert opinions. A careful observer could easily notice
the tonal change in how those holding power address us:
they are not just trying to project calm and confidence,
they also regularly utter dire predictions: the pandemic
is likely to take about two years to run its course and the
virus will eventually infect 60 to 70 percent of the global
population, with millions dead. In short, their true message
is that we will have to curtail the cornerstone of
our social ethics: the care for the old and weak. Italy has
already announced that, if things get worse, those over
80 or with other serious preexisting conditions will be
simply left to die. One should note how accepting such
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