Abstract
Winston Churchill had once said that ‘Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.’ This was the belief that was once upheld staunchly in all its rigidity amongst the majority of the people in the neoliberal world; who believed in their own gospel of free markets and worshipped the deity of deregulation. However, when Covid-19 struck society with ruthlessness, the common people and even the high priests of global capitalism were willing to scrap decades of neoliberal orthodoxy to alleviate the catastrophic effects of the pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. A conversion was vehemently demanded and socialism was to be their baptism. This paper analyses the journey of socialism from a Pre-Covid-19 society, a Covid-19 riddled society and then its emergence into an internationally observed economic order in a Post-Covid-19 world. For contrary to what Churchill believed, the Covid-19 catalyst, as captured in this paper, resulted in the revelation of the shroud of neoliberalism and the failure of the philosophy of laissez faire, the awakening of ‘class consciousness’ from its slumber of ignorance, and a gospel of collectivism and communal spirit that the working-class were going to take with, moving forward into a socialism oriented Post-Covid-19 society.
Highlights
In the summer of 1989, Francis Fukuyama, in his essay ‘The End of History?’ statedWhat we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy and its final form of human government.[1]Evoking Hegel, Marx, and Kojève; he backs up this claim by arguing that with the decadence of fascism and socialism, liberal democracy and the free market economy no longer have any competitors[2]
When Ludwig von Mises who is known for his economic arguments against socialism, stated that ‘the Welfare State is merely a method for transforming the market economy step by step into socialism’;25 he couldn’t be more wrong as the welfare state exists to protect the status quo of capitalism. It is by no means a method of transformation; what was a real catalyst of transformation is Covid-19, for the pandemic shattered through this magnanimity displayed by governments and reflected to the masses the reality of neoliberalism
While all of this is a speculation based on the analysis of the highest probability and growing trends within these countries, what still remains a surety is the emergence of a socialism oriented international economic order
Summary
What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy and its final form of human government.[1]. Decadence of fascism and socialism, liberal democracy and the free market economy no longer have any competitors[2]. A befitting counterargument to this claim would ironically be a quote of Milton Friedman, one of the most notable advocates of the free market economy, who said ‘reality ensures that the end of history will never come’.3. The reality is such: that Western liberal democracy saw its victory at the end of the Cold War, the countering ideology of socialism never truly saw its end. The last three decades have seen a slow surge of socialism with Covid-19 acting as a catalyst to the emergence of an internationally observed socialism oriented economic order
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