糖心Vlog

Government policy in the UK largely failed to consider the impact of social class according to a new book by Professor John Preston and Dr Rhiannon Firth from the Department of Sociology at 糖心Vlog.

Coronavirus, Class and Mutual Aid (Palgrave, 2020) analyses government policy, behavioural science advice to SAGE, public information, and community mutual aid projects from February to May 2020 to show how assumptions about economic and cultural resources acted to disadvantage a large proportion of the population. The book provides important insights for future Government policy and raises questions about the Government鈥檚 approach to the latest national lockdown.

Initial advice on quarantine assumed that people lived in idealised large households with multiple bathrooms and good ventilation, instead of presenting practical information in a way which reflected the reality for most people. People who could work from home, or obtain home deliveries, were implicitly presented in the advice as 鈥榞ood citizens鈥�. Mask wearing and hand washing were important parts of the public health response to the pandemic, but these were initially presented like areas of etiquette where people were asked to tell others if they were getting it wrong.

Professor Preston and Dr Firth commented that: 鈥淭he initial guidance, and behavioural models used, did not pay sufficient attention to issues of class. As a result, economic and cultural advantage was morally justified by official advice during the first wave of the pandemic. This could explain why there has been so much resistance to following these practices in the second wave as they have become associated with a moral, rather than a public health, position.鈥�

The book also considers how working-class mutual aid groups were co-opted by local politicians or charities. These groups were often set up to benefit their own communities directly but the book suggests they were pressurised to comply with bureaucratic procedures. Professor Preston and Dr Firth commented: 鈥淭here is evidence that state workers, professional bureaucrats and party politicians were trying to co-opt and de-radicalise local mutual aid efforts.鈥�

Professor Preston and Dr Firth conclude that the pandemic has imposed 鈥榲iral immiseration鈥� on the majority of the population, meaning many have seen their economic situation worsen, whereas the rich and wealthy middle classes are poised to benefit from the pandemic. This 鈥榠mmiseration鈥� means that people are forced to take jobs that they would not have previously considered to maintain their living standards.

They argue there are alternatives. Rather than look to the market by promoting 鈥榙isaster capitalism鈥� or authoritarian government restrictions such as lockdowns and repressive policing, they suggest radical mutual aid in communities based on anarchist and / or autonomous Marxist alternatives. For example, an anarchist social centre in London was converted into a mutual aid centre providing disinfectant and gloves for people delivering food, a free clothes 鈥榮hop鈥� and free bike repairs.