Nate Holdren discusses 'social murder' in the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring systemic issues and blame shifting. The conversation delves into depoliticization, societal divisions, and the impact of capitalism on mass death. They also analyze collective thinking in facing climate catastrophes and structural inequalities perpetuated by capitalism and racism.
Depoliticization distorts accountability for societal harms like workplace injuries.
Social murder in capitalism involves displacing authority and evading responsibility.
Expert recommendations may depoliticize issues, masking systemic failures and perpetuating blame on individuals.
Deep dives
Exploring Workplace Injury Law and Social Responses
The podcast episode delves into the examination of workplace injury law in the early 20th century United States. It highlights how different forms of organizing social responses to harms that people incur at work are crucial. The discussion emphasizes the role of injury law in shaping the perception of harm severity and the societal responses to workplace injuries.
Unpacking Social Murder and Depoliticization
The concept of social murder and its implications are explored in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The podcast delves into how social murder operates as a process within capitalism. The discussion further delves into the concept of depoliticization, where governing authorities attempt to distance themselves from the politically contested nature of governing by displacing authority and avoiding accountability for consequences.
Naturalization of Inaction and Technocratic Governance
The episode examines how inaction is often naturalized through analytics and expert recommendations, leading to challenges in pandemic responses. It highlights the shift towards using expertise to depoliticize issues and deflect accountability. Moreover, it discusses the deliberate fabrication of a narrative that attributes individual responsibility for systemic issues, thereby perpetuating the cycle of social and structural determinants affecting health outcomes.
Pandemic Response and Capitalist Social Relations
The discussion delves into how the pandemic response mirrors failures seen in daily capitalist systems. The speaker reflects on the organization of capitalist social relations, highlighting a through line from past eras to the present. They analyze the impact of neoliberalism from the early 2000s till the present, emphasizing how political dynamics from previous administrations influenced the current pandemic landscape. Additionally, the conversation touches on cultural and ideological divides stemming from the Trump era and how these factors have shaped responses to the pandemic.
Depoliticization, Societal Responsibility, and Norms
The dialogue explores the depoliticization of societal issues and the reframing of broader responsibilities as individual choices. It critiques the normalization of anti-mask sentiment and the shifting narrative around the effectiveness of measures like masking. The episode delves into the influence of technical frameworks like quality adjusted life years on policy evaluation and highlights how rationality and responsibility are manipulated to fit certain agendas. Moreover, it touches on the societal normalization of dehumanizing perspectives, especially regarding societal interventions and public health crises.
We speak with Nate Holdren about Friedrich Engels' concept of "social murder" and the social and political processes that have enabled the pandemic to be portrayed as if nothing more could be done.
Read Nate's piece "Depoliticizing Social Murder in the COVID-19 Pandemic" here: https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2022/03/21/depoliticizing-social-murder-covid-pandemic/
TRANSCRIPT: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/social-murder-with-nate-holdren
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