Crisis and Critique: On Preparedness, Authoritarianism and the Regulatory State

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has been overwhelming in many ways, but what are the structural conditions that can explain the dramatic impact of the global pandemic? How can we shift the horizon of the possible and contribute to another politics of life, one that is based on strong institutions and a vision of social justice? This article examines the role of preparedness, authoritarianism and the regulatory state. It suggests that it is important to move beyond the binary of epidemic and endemic disease and rethink the kinds of crisis publics, forms of political action and medical-historical consciousness that this distinction with its emphasis on dramatic disjunctures enables. Keywords