Corona crisis is an opportunity to rebuild social systems in Israel • It may be that the world could be better after, with a more just society
"The most effective weapon for dealing with the Corona - social solidarity" // Photo: Yossi Zeliger
"Man does not demand the good of any creature in the world other than himself" ("The Animal Farm", George Orwell, 1943). This criticism, written as a criticism, was adopted by free market advocates, but today they also realize that the market alone cannot defeat the Corona. Suddenly, talk of privatization of the health system and of cuts in welfare budgets weakened, and the discourse on "the invisible hand that will solve everything" was silenced. All those who said "We will not pay taxes and receive nothing" understand that they were wrong.
The spread of the corona proves that the strength of the company is as the strength of its weak link, and social justice in its broad sense is not only a means of solving the crisis - it is the solution.
Globalization knocked down walls and borders, and it seemed that no restrictions would face the passage of people, goods and money. And today, alongside the epidemic closing the borders and bringing about social distress, the consciousness also permeates that only cross-border cooperation will bring about the epidemic: A doctor in Tiberias contacts a physician in Italy to obtain protocols for the treatment of difficult corona patients, after it has received from China its way to treatment In patients. The Palestinian Ministry of Health is in close contact with the Israeli Ministry of Health in order to prevent the spread of the virus, which does not distinguish between borders, and in the whole world eliminates the distinction between man and person.
The world goes back 75 years, to the days after World War II when they realized that to overcome social chaos was not enough in the market economy, which might jump some up the ladder but leave many behind. And so was born the Marshall Plan, which injected investment into physical and social infrastructure, and these will be remembered as the days when social-democratic systems in the world began to develop - because that was a necessity. So is the Israeli economy.
Today it is clear that the most effective weapon for dealing with the spread of the virus is social solidarity. The erosion of social security networks seems to be Corona's best friend, and it is Netanyahu's "fat man" who is dealing with the epidemic for which the best vaccine is for the welfare state. The "invisible hand" was caught with the pants down, and everyone understands that without the state's intervention, the entire economy could be hit.
The crisis is an opportunity to rebuild social systems in Israel and around the world. The red bulbs must be addressed to make it clear to us what might happen to the entire economy if its weak parts collapse. A plan is needed to save the small businesses, save for employees, ensure that young families live with dignity in the days of income loss, and maintain the health of the elderly. It will also ensure that in the days following the crisis, Israel will move back from social abandonment to social investment.
Every crisis is an opportunity, and it is possible that, following the Corona crisis, the world could be better again, with a more just society. I have one great hope: perhaps the need for global cooperation will create new dynamics for political processes throughout the world and in our region - a move that will lead to a peace agreement between Israel and all our neighbors.
