More than the market: Reinventing postpandemic economic relations

The COVID-19 pandemic offers a lens of intense clarity, highlighting the weaknesses and inhumaneness world in which humans must be actively engaged capitalist market economy to live. Anthropological understandings human histories possibilities challenge contemporary economies suggest renewed social economic for post-COVID landscape. Between December 2019 July 2021, more than 4.3 million people worldwide died from 200 were infected with SARS-CoV-2; millions will have lasting health complications. These numbers only increase as continues. Vaccines, developed record time, quickly purchased hoarded by high-income countries, leaving many low-income countries vaccine shortage. During first year 2020, unemployment reduced access food shelter, financial hardships dramatically increased across much planet. official global workforce lost nearly 9% its total working hours 144 jobs their concomitant pay. losses affected women harshly men (International Labour Organization 2021). This does not even include disruptions damages informal workforce, areas is substantial component local regional (Ghosh et al. 2010; Vanek 2014). distribution wealth economies, already uneven at any point since recording economics began, became inequitable during 2020 2021; tiny percentage 8 billion on planet control vast majority almost all (Berkhout Ventura failure infrastructures, care, political structures effectively protect, engage, support illustrates that current dominant politico-economic system precarious unsustainable. Many believe modes competition emerged, or evolved, necessary reality being human. wrong. Such view presumes are naturally actors systems therefore natural outcome our evolutionary trajectory. But most do behave like rational actors. For humans, exchanges about profit but rather making keeping connections. relationships center lives driven an urge obtain equal better benefit interactions; there can modeled cost–benefit calculations. Substantive research demonstrates along other animals, plants, microorganisms, always, mostly, if place dire where success means (Fuentes 2019; Gilbert, Sapp, Tauber 2012; Graeber 2011; Mauss 1954; Ruiz-Vallaverde Sussman Cloninger Weiss Buchanan 2009). However, regardless “naturalness” globally, adults work earn monetary compensation then use purchase items goods direct products own work, such food, housing, transportation. At start COVID pandemic, businesses open, necessity going receive pay, deriving income action accepted normal obligate And humanity met SARS-CoV-2. including anthropologists, did need remind them serious problems. exact was core discourse, debates, revolutions nineteenth twentieth centuries. variety reasons, scholars public twenty-first century dropped debate, diving headfirst into neoliberal related versions worldviews. Now, novel coronavirus has reminded us definitionally, constitutionally, evolutionarily creature market. Capitalism forms options structures, systems, societies. In fact, COVID-19-like events possible, cannot drivers societal infrastructures. virus broke them. So leave humanity, how might anthropologists contribute better, sustainable post-COVID-19 pre-next-pandemic reality? It clear (economic otherwise) “return” pre-2020 patterns without risking doing it again, worse. insights, histories, help explore few reinventing futures. Genus Homo (humans) began story creatively collaborating one another seeing material modified altered suit needs. creating sharing deep part experience foundation 2017, Oka Fuentes 2010). complex early humans' materially egalitarian socially dynamic offered expansion development hierarchical relations. radical abilities make tools items; recent developments domestication, sedentism, storage; groups towns, cities, nations brought societies ways interacting. factors facilitated emergence limit status quo. From Marcel ([1954] 2002) David (2001, 2011) beyond, scientists provided wide swath literature offering ethnographic historical evidence many, most, were, are, seen mode sociality—a way connect, specifically interaction transaction. Sharing exchange materials central feature life. act creates enable trust, mutual entanglement, bonding, facilitating intergroup interindividual affiliation. cases exchange, strict reciprocity expected. contrast, accounting critical. Once become subject valuation, value introduced transactions, started obligatory emerges. Differential disproportionate possession goods, power obtain, produce, them, ubiquitous today. institutionalization particular kind inequality typical recent, shaped see 2011). Over past five centuries, actions all, environments context develop. catastrophe we alter this pattern. Can draw anthropological knowledge facilitate resilient assaults? Economists express relations … production, division labor, credit, money, etc. fixed, immutable, eternal categories what they explain these themselves produced, movement gave birth. little express. They transitory products. Economic real; modeled, debated, theorized, described. results laws. emerging features inevitable nature. live today creations based assumptions ideologies (i.e., beliefs) over ten Paraphrasing philosopher Ian Hacking (1995), immersion in, belief naturalness of, “looping effects,” people's perceived shared worlds real effects. Humans made change Anthropological, science, identifies difference between basic processes—the creation, movement, management some inequality—and economies. That look capacities insight order reshape restructure processes aim toward cohesion reciprocal exchange. More equitable compensation, taxation, supply inherently redistributive possible. A focus investment community infrastructures collaborative health, education, age, sex, gender, racial, ethnic lines society looks offer specific resilience face future pandemics. Even superficial assessment evolutionary, archaeological, happened two years makes very course, condemned sequential, catastrophic series events. easy. Collapse frequent, so, history. So, classroom, research, public-facing engagements regarding discourse highlight for, relational infrastructure There no return existence, nor should desire one; ship sailed. Rather, anthropology exposure done beliefs policy consumption, services. Only via constant efforts academy policymakers inertia associated outcomes altered.