Corona: The virus that broke Capitalism

 28th December 2020. 

As I sit in my living room (the norm of the year) watching a comedy which looked back on how 

ridiculous 2020 has been, I can feel anger rising, and I'm not normally an angry person. 




For my entire life, I've always felt like I've been searching. Searching for what, I don't know, but in the last couple of months, I've had a lot of flashlight moments, and a lot of anger building up inside. 


Augusto Boal, a theatre director famous for his creations of the Forum and Invisible Theatre techniques (where the audience, or witnesses, are fully involved with the actors) claims that politics is our 'sovereign art' while Paulo Freire- an educator and philosopher- claims that 'education should create freedom'. 


Now, the comedy I was watching, combined with debates and essays I've written on my MA- have given me another flashlight moment: it's not the coronavirus that's breaking the world- it's actually proving how much we DESPERATELY need to change our systems, and our way of life as we know it. 

Okay, so strictly speaking, yes, we're in a global pandemic- and as a result, jobs of been lost, world economies destroyed, and mental health tipped over the iceberg. But as a result of all THAT, it's clear to me that- or at least I feel, that it's highlighted WHERE we need to improve our society.



1) We all know we get locked up if we break the law. But what if prisons were replaced by some kind of therapeutic rehab process instead? Does being locked up just create more violence? Prisoners are just really humans, after all.

2) We need an education system where teachers can learn alongside their students, therefore, creating, hopefully, a more harmonious atmosphere. Presently, teachers are stressed, and students are depressed. Teachers and students are really only human, after all. Where did conversation get so lost?

3) A government that understands it's society- or some kind of rule that means politicians have to work and live a life within their communities before they jump straight into a politics degree, and wish to become the next PM. Or, another rule that budding PM's should travel the world - how can they be a world leader if they don't see how other people live?




4) More budding therapists- especially creative therapists. Not all talk therapies are suitable for absolutely everyone. 

5) More affordable housing. How are 20 somethings ever meant to get themselves on the property ladder? And what about all the homeless people in the world?

6) A world in which youngsters don't have to worry about achieving the 'American Dream' . Is the whole of the Western Society built upon this- even the UK- if we don't have a four bedroom house with a white wicket fence in the suburbs or the countryside, a happy family life with a dog running around our feet, and a successful career- what if we are born with Special Educational Needs? 

Most importantly- what if all this doesn't meet our values- what if we want to jet off to some remote island and become a Buddhist monk?




That was an extreme example, but, hopefully, you understand.


I think for all my life I've been trying to work myself around achieving number 6. But I got very lost trying to achieve it. 


Surely- we need a therapeutic, caring, non-violent, non money-obsessed world, that wants to strive for freedom and harmony?


It's nearly 2021- I know I alone can't change our systems. But the global pandemic has certainly shaken us all, and I hope, for all our sakes that, Capitalism will learn a rather valuable lesson- because we all need to feel human again. x




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