What Went Wrong? The Emergence of Corona

Throughout the human evolution, the survival has been remained as the biggest challenge for the human race on this planet. Richard Dawkins in his famous book Selfish Genes expressed that the genes strive for immortality in anyway and there was an in-built mechanism that pushes the genes to engage with other genes in order to ensure their survival. After ensuring the survival, the humans display the hedonistic behavior that means to seek the maximum pleasure or finding the ways or patterns to the happiness and avoiding the sufferings. Happiness motivates a man and the ultimate goal of man remains to gain the maximum happiness in the absence of pain, Jeremy Bentham stated. The hedonistic behavior may be termed as the most influencing factor behind all the actions of the man including all inventions and the political revolutions. 

 

The conflicts on the basis of resources, which either helped in survival or became a source of maximizing the happiness, existed even in the ancient horticultural, pastoral or agricultural societies as social contract theories explained. The survival instinct and hedonistic attitude of man convinced him to realize the importance of a central decision making authority in the form of society or state that would safeguard his protection and welfare. The evolution of intelligence and the reasoning further shaped the societal structures and ultimately the nation states came into existence particularly after the treaty of Westphalia under the shadow of Renaissance in Europe. 

 

Here the problem emerged; the legitimate authorities or the powerful actors developed the priorities and guidelines for progress and development for their states and citizens under the influence of their hedonistic attitude. The nation states faced different challenges including wars or existential threats and to counter such challenges, the direction of the policies of the states became security oriented. Without any doubt, the wars have seriously harmed the mankind; for instance, the Persian Wars, Crusades War, Franco-German War, WWI, WWII, US War on Terror and its invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq caused millions of deaths and the psychological and economic burden for the remaining individuals. Keeping in view the history of wars, the state actors rationalize their policies under the argument of anarchy that exists at international level and consumed the resources in that direction. 

 

Howbeit, the history has multiple dimensions and man has not been merely gone through wars but also faced the crucial challenge of the infectious diseases and pandemics. The pandemics were remained a historical fact and real threat for the existence of human beings. All the parts of the world faced multiple pandemics such as the Antonine plague, Black Death, Cholera, Flu, Asian Flu etc. Due to the lack of the knowledge, understandings and poor medical facilities; the pandemics caused the millions of deaths of helpless human beings. Here humans were also psychologically distressed at a larger scale and the social and economic patterns altered.

 

 

Similarly, the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 caused worldwide about 39 million deaths which are considered as the higher numbers than the causalities in WWI. The Asian Flu and HIV/Aids also precipitated so far the huge amount of deaths. Although, with the progress and advancement in medical knowledge, many diseases were controlled but the questions arise, was it really sufficient? Pandemics and Wars precipitated the existential threats but states mostly focus on producing and buying the military weapons and equipment than the health or medical related paraphernalia.

 

The advancement and progress in medical knowledge, technology and infrastructure of developed states are indubitably not sufficient and reliable as the outbreak of Corona virus has busted this myth. Corona monster has not only posed a momentous and severe threat to the mankind rather also shaken the political and economic set ups of the states. The further impact will surely be continued and observed in the post Corona World. The Corona monster is hitting all the countries; China, Italy, USA, UK, Australia, India, Iran, Pakistan and many others from North to South. This monster does not believe in discrimination on the basis of racism, nationalism or any other identity. On a critical note, it was an inevitable occurrence because the states narrowly prioritized and solely rationalized the history of wars but failed in understanding and rationalizing that ‘pandemics has history too’. 

 

More to this, across the global world, the greater powers allocating the huge budget for defense and prioritize it over the health, education and rationalization of citizens. 

 

According to Global Fire Power, United States, China, Saudi Arabia Germany, UK, and Russia rank among the top ten countries that spend huge military budget. However, these countries could not make their space in the top ten ranking with respect to Health Care Index, CEO Magzine 2019 stated. Even after investing huge amount on the defense, the irony is that S-400 Missile System, SU-25, SU-35, F-16, F-22 or F-35 cannot be used against Corona monster. Unfortunately, the condition of United States, Super Power is so miserable that to counter the wrath of Corona only 170,000 ventilators available that may not be sufficient if situation get worse. Now imagine the situation in developing world that how the poor countries could arrange this crisis of Corona. The scenario would have been far different if developed countries spend half of the budget on health sector focusing on research and development and latest equipment.

 

It is quite woeful that the powerful state actors under the influence of hedonistic philosophy have structurally limited the development and rationalization for citizens. The knowledge producers and policy makers systematically and institutionally started to acquiescently rely on the higher legitimate authorities. The state is rational in justifying about the existential threats, however, the societies and individuals also face the existential threats particularly in the form of epidemics and pandemics but such threats have never been taken seriously by the states. The trend of ignoring the perspective of human development particularly health, education and rationalization of citizens is causing the spontaneous loss to the states and a gap between the state and society is widening. The expanding gap between the state and society (individuals) indicates that the spirit of the social contract is being violated by the powerful legitimate authority. This invited the various problems at the structure and agency level, for instance, the needs of society and individuals have not been considered as the valuable unless such needs are also felt by the state.

 

Caustically, the individuals for the sake of their survival and welfare endorsed the legitimacy of the state yet they still face existential threats and could not maximize their pleasure and deprived of the hedonistic behavior. The poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, poor health and mis-governance increase their sufferings which may become threat particularly for the legitimate existence of the developing states. However, the argument for optimism considers the opportunity lies in every crisis; the more the crisis deepens, the more the course of actions gets cleared and focused. It is hoped that the great powers especially United States, Russia and China will definitely cooperate and work together to overcome this problem for the sake of humanity.  Similarly, states should focus on domestic spheres of governance and invest more in health sector to conduct research especially focusing on the infectious and pandemic diseases. It will surely help in understanding the capacity of the health sector and causes and impacts of the pandemics; resultantly, the balanced and felicitous policies could be formulated. The legitimate authorities need to empathize with the individuals and seriously grasp that the states cannot go alone ahead and become strong by solely focusing on the state security policies and disdaining the human development.