International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

Marxism and the U.S. Response to the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 Pandemics

Sam Friedman, Suzie Kay — 2023-08-30T04:52:40Z

Over the last fifty years, few public health professionals have considered Marxism relevant, and few Marxists have treated pandemics as an imminent concern. We offer this paper to help both public health professionals and socialists view pandemics through a Marxist lens. Although our theory is global in scope, we focus on the U.S. because of its scientific prominence, its outsized global role in the AIDS pandemic, and its poor performance in the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hope is that this piece will strengthen efforts to protect public health and, better yet, help usher capitalism off the Earth before it makes the planet uninhabitable.

- IV583 - August 2023 / United States (USA), Marxism, LGBT, Public services , Covid-19 Pandemic

North Korea's chronic food shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic

Karen Yamanaka — 2023-08-29T08:46:21Z

The North Korean regime has faced a severely deteriorated economic situation due to international sanctions, floods, and the Covid-19 pandemic. In January 2020, the country blocked cross-border trade and expelled humanitarian workers and foreign diplomats facing the danger of the Covid-19 pandemic. The closure of the country delayed the arrival of the pandemic. However, as early as March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that a Covid-19 epidemic was developing in North Korea. Its strategy of sealing its external borders in January 2020 prevented essential supplies from entering the country, leading to food shortages and a faltering economy.

- IV583 - August 2023 / North Korea, Covid-19 Pandemic

Care Rights: A Major Agenda For the Left

José Soeiro — 2023-04-05T12:01:25Z

Jose Soeiro analyses why it is important to put care at the centre of the political debate to fight inequalities, and why making care a universal social right and collective responsibility should be the aim of a demanding democracy.

- IV579 - April 2023 / Europe, Women, Disability, Covid-19 Pandemic

Zero-COVID, reopening, and the proliferation of state capitalisms

Promise Li — 2023-01-12T12:31:00Z

Despite different approaches toward the pandemic, the US and China share a commitment to capital accumulation.

- IV576 - January 2023 / China, Covid-19 Pandemic

COVID & the Global South: the Nigerian Case

Emilia Micunovic — 2022-07-03T09:54:10Z

Emilia Micunovic interviewed Rafiat Atanda and Zigwai Tagwai, who volunteer with ONE in Nigeria. They are professional women in their 20s. This article has been edited from a longer version.–The editors

- IV570 - July 2022 / Nigeria, Public services , Covid-19 Pandemic

Where is the Left on pandemic politics?

Justin Feldman and Sam Friedman — 2022-05-20T09:57:17Z

Tempest contributors Justin Feldman and Sam Friedman discuss the shortcomings of the Left in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and try to trace a path forward.

- IV568 - May 2022 / United States (USA), Covid-19 Pandemic

An Emotional Week: COVID, Abortion, Racist Mass Murder

Dan La Botz — 2022-05-16T06:03:14Z

What a time of powerful conflicting emotions in the United States last week as we dealt with COVID, abortion rights, and a white nationalist's mass murder.

- IV568 - May 2022 / United States (USA), Women, Far Right, Covid-19 Pandemic

Is “Cultural Revolution” Making a Comeback in Shanghai?

Au Loong-Yu — 2022-05-05T10:21:16Z

The ongoing lockdown in Shanghai and the consequences of a zero Covid policy under despotic rule.

- IV568 - May 2022 / China, Covid-19 Pandemic

Racism under Covid-19 in Japan

Karen Yamanaka — 2022-03-26T08:49:50Z

“Confronting racism and driving xenophobic discrimination out of society is an urgent task for populations in Japan today. ”

- IV566 - March 2022 / Japan, Racism and Islamophobia, Covid-19 Pandemic

‘There is no money left': Covid crisis leaves Sri Lanka on brink of bankruptcy

Hannah Ellis-Petersen, Minoli de Soysa — 2022-02-16T08:28:58Z

Half a million people have sunk into poverty since the pandemic struck, with rising costs forcing many to cut back on food

- IV565 - February 2022 / Economy, Sri Lanka, Debt, Covid-19 Pandemic