Two years of Corona and no end in sight – neither that of the pandemic nor that of the crisis of the left: From alliances like “Whoever has, he gives” and “Not on our backs” came important but ineffective attempts to counter the crisis in a class-political way. The Zero Covid campaign has been calling for a solidarity shutdown for a year. Those who traditionally see the root of all evil in the state try to criticize the measures from the left and like to deal with a vague concept of freedom in which, despite all argumentative contortions, the freedom of the individual takes precedence over the whole. The social left is still what this column lamented during the first wave of the pandemic: disoriented.
The common ground is obvious. In this country there is discussion about how people who do not want to be vaccinated can be brought to the needle, but in many places on this planet people would like to be vaccinated, but have no way of doing so. In almost 40 countries around the world, less than ten percent of the population is fully vaccinated.
The situation would be less unfortunate this winter if the patents were free, because mutations arise primarily through transfers. In Sunday speeches it is often emphasized that a pandemic can only be fought globally and that a virus cannot be impressed by national borders. But there are no consequences. Rather, Germany is actively campaigning not to release the patents for the vaccine. South Africa and India’s release initiatives have been blocked several times. The background: A share of the German company Biontech currently costs 240 euros – about twenty times as much as when it went public a good two years ago. Location chauvinism joins vaccination nationalism.
But there is only a few criticisms. Biontech is even seen as a beacon project by left-wing liberals, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci as living proof of the utopia of non-discriminatory diversity capitalism. Others get intoxicated by the supposed innovative power of capitalism.
Ideology can be stronger than reality: mRNA technology, thanks to which Biontech makes billions, is based on state-funded basic research – state institutions have also invested billions worldwide in vaccine developments.
After two years of the corona crisis, it is overdue for the left to make a visible appearance in questions about fighting pandemics. Otherwise, another winter threatens left-wing impotence.
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