Change

I first want to acknowledge the pain and difficulty which has been caused by the global pandemic. It has disrupted everyone’s life at some level, whether that level be devastating or merely annoying. To everyone who has lost someone, my condolences. To those who have suffered, it will get better. To the healthcare staff, my pride and gratitude.

Change. That has been the word on everyone’s mouth since February, but it is relevant now more than ever as we move towards ‘the new normal.’  In other words, as we move toward the entrance of a new world and a new society. But the shape of this world and the intricacies of this society have not been set in stone – it is ours to mould, and so we need to learn from this experience and decide the kind of world we want to live in.

Free From Discrimination

For, perhaps, the first time in history, humanity has a common enemy, and as in all crises, this enemy forces us to look at our faults in order to be stronger in the future. This crisis, in particular, shows how similar we all are. No matter the wealth, the race, the nationality, the sexuality, the gender, or the religion, this virus attacks. COVID-19 does not recognise these differences, and if something as deadly as COVID-19 does not care about such distinctions, then perhaps we are at fault for allowing them to cause such division. The emphasis on these distinctions, and the allowance of them to rule our thinking, our actions, and our society is the major fault of society that has been exposed. George Flloyd and others since have been murdered because of this fault in society. Members of Dáil Eireann are facing discrimination because of this fault in society.

Racism, homophobia, sexism, sectarianism and all other forms of discrimination are based on the almost instinctive belief that one person can be better than, or above, another person. It is this most disgusting belief that leads to discrimination. But to discriminate, and to believe oneself to be better than another, one must identify why, and in the most lazy and irrational way, humanity has chosen race, nationality, sexuality, gender, religion and even wealth to be the reasons why a person is better than someone else. Perhaps this instinct and this belief is becoming weaker through time, but I fear this is not the case. And so, despite all of the pain COVID-19 has caused us, we should also be thankful as it has highlighted the extreme irrationality of discrimination. But this exposition cannot go ignored. The Black Lives Matter campaign in the USA is the start of what should be a global response to another global disease – discrimination. Our new society should be free of it.

Eliminate Scarcity of Money

What other lessons can be learned? Many people have spoken about their realisation that one’s career is not as important as they once thought. There are things that matter more – health, family, happiness. I spoke to a man that worked an-hour-and-a-half from his home and so stayed from Monday-Thursday away from his family – he is now going to work close to home. In Leitrim, this is a big deal. We have also realised that there are some jobs that are much more important than others – our ‘essential workers.’ These workers are the ones that society cannot allow to stop working because if they did, society would collapse. And yet, one sector of these essential workers had to protest for a fair wage only months ago.

But why do people prioritise career over happiness? And why do workers who contribute next to nothing to society have huge salaries whilst those who contribute most to society are forced to protest for a fair wage? The answer is simple: money and scarcity of money. Money dictates what people do, the decisions they make, the job they choose, and sometimes who they become. Although, people are not to be blamed for this. Money is needed to survive as without it one is homeless, starving and sick. Hence, it is clear that everyone needs money. Therefore, everyone should have money. In our pre-COVID-19 society, many of us believed that healthcare and shelter were basic human rights. What we must realise when shaping our post-COVID-19 society, is that money is also a basic human right. A right to not be impoverished.

This right can be guaranteed by universal basic income. This would be an allowance paid by the State to every citizen over a certain age. The amount of this allowance would be determined by establishing the amount of money needed to keep a person with no other income above the poverty line. You qualify simply through living, i.e. everyone receives it. The ramifications this would have on society would be immense. Firstly, it would allow people to pursue their passion instead of pursuing money. People would work for the enjoyment of their work. Happiness could be put before career. Family and health could be prioritised without fear of poverty. Secondly, think about the labour market. As of now, as toil increases, wage decreases. But if everyone has money, less people will be willing to do these toil-heavy jobs. The effect of this would be higher wages for such workers – nurses, garbage collectors, cleaners, and others. These are our ‘essential workers’ – the workers that society cannot do without. At last their wages would reflect their contributions.

There will be those that will argue that if everyone had money, no one would work at all. Firstly, no one would be rich off universal basic income, it simply does not allow one to slip below the poverty line. Hence, it does not disincentivise work. Truthfully, however, there would be those that would never bother working. However, I do not believe laziness or incompetence should condemn one to poverty. Also, and more importantly, I believe this group would be a small minority. Data from cases where universal basic income has been trialled shows how successful it has been. Additionally, study after study has shown that there is far more to work than money – self-worth, fulfilment, enjoyment, social connections, etc. The only difference would be that universal basic income would allow people to take the time to decide what they wish to do with their lives and get the education and/or training needed, instead of deciding how to spend their lives at the age of 17 and being trapped in a job they hate for fear of poverty. Many more will say this is not possible financially, but the State would actually save money overall due to savings regarding crime, social services, and less red tape surrounding welfare, given how universal basic income could eliminate almost all other State benefits and its only requirement be that you are a live human being.

No one deserves to be homeless, hungry or sick. As Rutger Bregman says in his book ‘Utopia for Realists’ (a book that has influenced this article heavily): “Poverty isn’t a lack of character, it’s a lack of cash.”

Last Words

It comes down to this – do we want to continue measuring the development of society through growth, efficiency and output? Or do we want to create a world where we judge the state of our society based on equality, opportunity, satisfaction and happiness? To me, these are much more important things. I do not expect widespread agreement with everything I have put forward above, but radical and seemingly unattainable ideas are needed if we are to progress. Milton Freedman once said: “Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around.” I do not agree with everything that Milton Freedman ever said, but if he is right about this, we must ensure ideas such as the above are the ones lying around. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, many have been burned by the raging fire that is COVID-19, but a better society can rise from the ashes. We just need the will to make it happen.

le Eoin Ó Ceannaigh