PandemicEraEthics


I’ve taken this most inspiring of #PandemicEraEthics writings -that seeks to take the #Coronavirus crisis and draw out lessons- and drawn out 34 questions that people might like to adopt/respond to?:

 

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/seizing-unexpected-opportunities-covid-19/

 

1. [What helps/hinders] the crisis provid[ing] a chance to re-evaluate and re-imagine our collective future?

2. [What is the best way to be in] what the sociologist Karl Jaspers calls a “liminal space” - a between-times in which the old ways of living and thinking are no longer relevant, but new ways have yet to emerge to replace them. We might also call this a “luminal” space: a time of unprecedented reckoning that exposes the collective imagination to the light of day, warts and all?

3. [Summarise please how out of #Coronavirus situation you see (and can possibly aid) the reconsideration of] what to value, what to prioritise, and what trajectory to follow?

4. [Where are you & yours in terms of] the readiness [with which you accepted but now question] something (such as economic growth) as a given makes us impervious to its flaws, even when they threaten the health and wellbeing of the population the economy purports to serve, and when continued growth endangers the Earth itself?

5. “Covid 19 has shown us, for example, that something as mundane as a trip to the supermarket is extremely precious. The idea of food shortages, the vulnerability of the supply chain, and the importance of ‘unskilled’ jobs becomes much clearer” Discuss.

6. “The so-called ‘wealth creators’ and ‘bullshit jobs’ are being shown to be not so indispensable after all. *” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/25/bullshit-jobs-a-theory-by-david-graeber-review?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

7. [What shifts are being acknowledged in perception of the] central and irreplaceable role played by governments: the need for coordination; for clear, mass communication, financial support and planning that are central to the successful handling of crises like #coronavirus?”

8. [Handling a crisis like #Coronavirus is] not [some]thing that businesses or citizens can do alone.” Discuss.

9. Examples please of poor government response to #Coronavirus [& lessons to learn]?

10. Examples of businesses demonstrating genuine social purpose [& lessons to learn]?

11. Examples of citizens displaying great organisational efficiency [& lessons to learn]?

12. [Put the case that] #Coronavirus has illuminated as fictions of the social or public imagination the core ideas of neoliberalism - a minimal state and the magic of free markets.

13. [Consider & advise a policy response to this opinion]: “What society has valued most - highly-paid white collar jobs - & what it has consistently undervalued - things like nursing, formal and informal care work, food growing, grocers, and basic infrastructural services - are being shown up as misguided choices with major social consequences.”

14. [If #coronavirus has shown us the irreducible importance of personal action, what examples are there beyond the pains we’ve taken] to make sure our elderly relatives are safe and well-equipped; old friends contacted, services, ideas and jokes shared; and the celebration of those on the frontlines of the crisis. 

15. Has #socialdistancing, paradoxically, brought us closer?

16. Through voluntary and political action how can we help those who need urgent assistance? 

17. What does relieving the burden on the NHS look like? 

18. What do we need government to be doing right now? 

19. How can we demonstrate gratitude for the dedication of others?

20. Is the summary that “#Coronavirus reveals that a populace of active and creative citizens is crucial, rather than one made up by mere out-for-oneself consumers, the role in which we are increasingly cast by others in politics and the media. What does that mean for reimagining our collective future?

21. In times of crisis - whether it’s a crisis of public health, eco-climate collapse or widespread injustice  [how shall] we send a message to politicians and fellow citizens in our everyday behaviour?

22. Why not make that a message of citizenship, community, and mutual responsibility rather than individual entitlement?

23. [To what extent do you adopt the view that]  by changing the basis of our behaviour in ways 1-22 above (all of https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/seizing-unexpected-opportunities-covid-19/) we create a radically-different collective imagination, a new vision for the future of society that’s rooted in equality and solidarity; one that values things and people that add true worth to our lives rather than extracting value for private gain?

24. [RE #FreedomToChoose is it that] most people don’t value entitlement above all else, but rather the virtues of thoughtfulness, neighbourliness, kindness, supportiveness, and creativity. 

25. [How might we best nurture  the virtues of thoughtfulness, neighbourliness, kindness, supportiveness, and creativity] so as to create a society that is equal to the challenge of responding fairly, courageously and imaginatively to crises that are even bigger than #Covid19?

26. To make these new patterns stick #awareness?& #practice.

27. [Will you please resolve that] when #skyping or #whatsapping with our friends, families and colleagues, you’ll talk about how to build on what we value from the pandemic after it’s over?

28. [Are you moved to take on the practice of] writing about our experiences from the perspective of others?

29. [Consider] what it must be like to be an underpaid frontline worker, and what does that say about changing the way we value different jobs in the future? 

30. Put yourself in the position of those with chronic illnesses or disabilities whose lives are on permanent lockdown, but who are largely forgotten as the rest of the world gallops on. How can the structure of caring in society be changed? 

31. And how can we transfer the lessons learned from #Covid-19 to the struggle against #ecoclimatecollapse?

32. [#DreamPlanDoReview] living in different ways, eg #veganism, #localism, #communitysupport, [#CommunityDevelopment] or making do without stuff or cars [#CarFree #Freelender https://freelender.org #LendItAllMan & @gifteconomics]

33. [How will you] keep reminding [you & yours that] such opportunities for reimagining societies are rare?

34. [How motivated are you by the idea that] “we owe it to those who have died to emerge from this crisis in better shape?”