Seeking Radical Change During a Crisis: is it really an opportunity for the left?

It has quickly become obvious the economic impact of COVID-19 on the economy will be widespread and devastating. Governments around the world are responding to this crisis with economic stimulus packages designed to soften the blow of the pandemic. On 17 March the Labour-led New Zealand Government announced it would offer wage subsidies, benefit increases, tax changes for businesses, a boost for the aviation industry and increased health funding. Then on 24 March the Government announced a six-month mortgage holiday for homeowners and landlords. It is unclear at the moment how effective these measures will be. No doubt there will be further stimulus provided in the near future.

Naturally, the left has been vocal about the solutions required to deal with the impact of COVID-19. We have pointed out the failure of the existing economic system and argued for a response that moves the economy in a new direction. In New Zealand there have been calls to have student debt abolished, the energy sector nationalised and for a left-wing UBI. Ideas such as these offer an alternative vision of the future and it’s important we make these demands. During a time of crisis space opens up for ideas that only a few months ago seemed impossible. However, during a time of crisis it is also extremely difficult to get left-wing ideas implemented by those in power.

The New Zealand Government is led by Labour and supported by New Zealand First. Both are pragmatic in their own way and they have shown little desire to move politics beyond the Third- Way neoliberal approach of previous Governments. The Green Party often talk about the need for change, but they have been unable to leverage their power and make that a reality. As a result, since 2017 the Government of New Zealand has delivered more of the same. While the Government’s response so far might be the biggest peacetime economic plan in New Zealand’s history, the current aim is to protect the existing economic order as much as possible. Then, if possible, return New Zealand to something resembling what existed a few months ago, rather than create something new. The boldness of the initial stimulus simply reflects the extraordinary situation we are living through. It is not evidence of a bold, left-wing Government. If the response to the pandemic results in radical change it will be because the impact of COVID-19 is so devastating that the current economic system is no longer salvageable and there’s a broad consensus that ideological change is the pragmatic solution.

Currently, left-wing movements in New Zealand are not powerful enough to pressure the Government into meaningful change. Unions, despite all the good work of those involved, are not currently capable of forcing the hand of politicians. Meanwhile, socialist organisations remain too fractured to develop the solidarity required to push for change from below. As a result, it is up to the New Zealand electorate. Sadly, New Zealand voters are extremely moderate and despite having a mixed-member proportional electoral system, they seem content with two dominant centrist parties. Our current crisis is unlikely to change that, at least in the foreseeable future.

During a crisis, such as a disaster or a pandemic, voters think in terms or risk reduction, rather than radical change. When everything is suddenly thrown into chaos and insecurity is rife, that which existed a few months ago becomes very attractive to most people, even if they were not entirely happy with it at the time. Most people will seek a measured response from those in power. They simply want to see the crisis overcome, rather than a departure from what existed before. This is a key reason why people tend to rally around their political leaders during and immediately after a crisis, for example George W. Bush’s approval ratings in the wake of 9/11. Early indications suggest Adern’s popularity will rise, as will the Labour Party in the polls. This is unsurprising since their brand of technocratic centrism is perfectly suited to a health crisis like COVID-19. Most of the public have very little understanding of how pandemics play out and how they can be contained. As a result, people find comfort in knowing the Government’s response is based on the insights of health professionals, such as Ashley Bloomfield and Siouxsie Wiles.

A possible reason why some on the left believe a crisis is an opportunity for change is we mistake altruism for political solidarity. Disaster researcher Henry W. Fisher claimed:

”This perceived tendency for the depravity of mankind to emerge during disasters is not supported by the evidence. The community of individuals does not break down. The norms which we tend to follow during normal time hold during emergency time. In fact, during emergency time the “best within us” is usually exhibited as we become much more altruistic.”

When people are in the midst of a crisis they suddenly become aware of their own vulnerability. As a result, commonly held beliefs, such as personal responsibility and meritocracy, hold less weight. The phrase ‘we’re all in this together’ is accepted as a truism. During this fleeting moment of collectivism leftists begin to assume we are in a moment where radical change is not only possible, but even probable. However, this is often not the case. The altruism that emerges is mostly superficial and temporal. It is vastly different from a movement of people who develop solidarity based on a set of specific political beliefs, then demand radical change. Unfortunately, the temporal collectivism that emerges during a crisis can even be detrimental to radical change. The assumption that ‘we’re all in this together’ can function as a discursive tool used to pacify radical demands, lower expectations, and eventually justify an inadequate response. Pandemics, as with any other disaster, do not impact everyone equally. Wealthy people have savings to fall back on to soften the economic blow, they can often access better healthcare, and in some instances they possess the resources required to avoid the crisis. In contrast, poor people face a completely different reality. Therefore, it is important to challenge the idea that ‘we’re all in this together’ and instead highlight how existing inequalities shape how a crisis is experienced.

Having lived in Christchurch through the 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes I witnessed the altruistic collectivism that naturally emerges in a time of crisis. It is heartwarming to see people and communities stand together during the worst of times, but it is not the kind of solidarity required to effect substantive change. The left can tap into the temporal altruism, but we must transform it into class solidarity based on political beliefs, which can then address the economic, social and cultural challenges economic liberalism has created. When widespread unemployment and the worst economic impacts of COVID-19 begins to dissipate the idea that ‘we’re all in this together’ will quickly dissolve and it will be replaced once again by demands of personal responsibility, as well as the assumption that suffering is a fair outcome in meritocratic society. Sadly, this is what occurred in Christchurch.

In addition to ‘we’re all in this together’ we should also be highly skeptical of the phrase ‘a new normal"‘. The problem with that phrase is that everyone has a different idea of what the new normal should be. We were given ‘a new normal’ after the Global Financial Crisis, but it was just the same as the old normal, only worse for the working class, renters and marginalised communities. Moreover, it fostered a rise in toxic nationalism, anti-immigration sentiment and racism. In the coming months and years it is vital we demand radical change. Short term solutions to revive the existing economic system must be dismissed as inadequate. A stimulus package that delivers relief for capitalists, banks and property owners is not a path towards anything new. Instead, it is a step backwards to the pre-crisis economy. If the left fails to present a convincing vision, and make it a reality, the old normal will be patched up, repackaged, then delivered as if it is something new. This was the solution to the Global Financial Crisis and there is a very good chance it will happen again.


Josiah Banbury