THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
STATEMENT OF THE REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST LEAGUE
The world watches with anxiety as the COVID-19, now declared a global pandemic, wreaks havoc in many parts of the globe. We have witnessed, in more than 150 countries throughout the world, massive loss of life, with the number of infected people rising day by day. The pandemic affects not only the health of the people of the world, but their livelihoods as well. Undoubtedly, this is set to have a tremendous impact in the global economy.
Pandemics like COVID-19 have occurred more frequently and have affected wider areas since the start of capitalism. It further intensified at the turn of the 20th century, the era of imperialism. Seven of the ten worst pandemics in history have occurred between the 1850s and 2012.
Clearly, capitalism as a mode of production is a fertile breeding ground for the occurrence of epidemics and pandemics. Under capitalism, people are forced to concentrate and interact in relatively smaller areas such as urban cities, factories and malls as production, trade and consumption increases. As capitalist exploitation intensifies, the living conditions of the working people deteriorates as has been shown by the situation of homeless people as well as people lacking other basic needs, especially among the urban poor communities.
As capitalist production is based on the extraction of natural resources and purely unsustainable growth, what ensues is massive environmental degradation, pollution, and conditions that lead to inhuman living conditions for majority of the population, as well as the outbreak of infectious diseases. It is no wonder that these conditions have led to the current COVID-19 Pandemic.
In this regard, the Revolutionary Socialist League applauds all measures in place geared towards halting the spread of the virus, as well as all efforts towards directing assistance to the most affected areas of the globe. In particular, special recognition and commendation is given to all healthcare workers on the frontline in dealing with this pandemic.
In order to further contain this pandemic, it is essential that;
1) All health services be provided to all members of the society who would require them. In this regard, no one should be made to pay for medical services.
2) The public should avoid overcrowded places and use appropriate hand sanitizer as a safety precaution.
3) Testing or screening for the virus must be made free for all and available to everyone.
4) Food supply and public safety should be maintained in an organized manner.
5) Decent housing should also be guaranteed by the state, and rent payments should be suspended.
6) The state should also guarantee adequate water supply and electricity for all citizens.
7) Policies must be in place to ensure that workers do not bear the cost of the economic slowdown arising from the pandemic; no one should lose their jobs or take pay-cuts during this period.
8) All speculation as regards exchange of goods and services should be combated. Anyone who overprices commodities, particularly basic items as well as bus-fare in the matatu industry, should be dealt with accordingly.
As a safety measure, the Revolutionary Socialist League hereby suspends its physical political engagements, including political classes, in a bid to curb the pandemic. However, our political activity will not be on hold, and we shall keep disseminating information that is geared towards agitating, educating and organizing the masses. We are to roll out a series of online revolutionary study, to keep our cadres abreast with revolutionary theory and the happenings of the world.
Clearly, for the people of the world, the solutions available for the pandemic indicate the urgent need to replace the current obsolete and exploitative system with a higher, more advanced one; one that places the primacy of the human being above all, and one that places sustainability above growth.
It is time for Socialism.
RSL Committee,
Nairobi, Kenya.