Apologists for capitalism claim that the system is doing the best it can faced with a new virus in today’s complex and interconnected world.

On 8 April, the 76-day lockdown imposed on the metropolis of Wuhan (11 million inhabitants) ended.

By Martina Stafford The precarious conditions of work for artists and performers has been acutely exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ireland’s culture of under-payment for artists’ work leaves many feeling like it is a race to the bottom for the crumbs of an ever shrinking loaf. The crumbs being offered by the government due to the Covid-19 pandemic amount to ...

By Shane Finnan The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the surface existing inequalities and oppression within our society, and has indeed exacerbated them. An important case in point is the open-air prison system that is Direct Provision. Direct Provision (DP) is a system that was designed not to meet the needs of asylum seekers but to facilitate easier deportations. It ...

By Colm McCarthy The severe pressure the health service has come under from the Covid-19 outbreak has led the government to temporarily take over the running of private hospitals in the state. In doing so, they have acknowledged the inability of our two-tier health service to tackle this pandemic. This is a system that is inherently unequal and unjust. It ...

By Conor Burke Throughout the COVID-19 crisis workers in various essential services have gone beyond the call of duty to help the rest of us feel safe and secure, from supermarket staff to pharmacy workers to public transport personnel and others. Arguably, it is those front-line workers in our hospitals who have proven themselves not just essential but the difference ...

By James McCabe Across the globe, governments are introducing sweeping curtailments of basic democratic rights in the name of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. In some countries this has even led to the “temporary” dissolution of parliament. Many governments have thankfully, if belatedly, enforced the closure of non-essential businesses. At the same time, many have banned public gatherings and given the ...

By Ana Mitra  On the 25 March 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a 21 day lockdown in India, leaving the nation of 1.3 billion people approximately four hours to prepare for it. This announcement resulted in the country queuing up to panic buy groceries and essentials to stock up for the three weeks. Moreover, while essential services were ...

By Finghín Kelly  As relatively developed health care systems in Europe and North America are struggling to cope with the ravages of Covid-19, the people of Gaza are bracing themselves for what could be a massive humanitarian catastrophe should the virus take hold in the territory.  Open air prison Home to two million Palestinian refugees, Gaza is an open air ...

By Harper Cleves In the last weekend of March, images of a parking lot converted into a homeless shelter in Las Vegas, Nevada sparked outrage. The images of the make-shift shelter are stark and are illustrative of the grotesque inequalities that lie at the heart of US capitalism.   Human beings lie directly on asphalt, or on thin blue foam sheets ...