Dialectical Anthropology - Notes on COVID-19 and the contradictions of capital II

Call for Commentaries

This call for commentaries is a one year follow-up to Notes on COVID-19 and the Contradictions of Capital, a symposium published in the September 2020 issue of Dialectical Anthropology (44:3).

In our second symposium on COVID-19, we ask for commentaries that explore the possibility for socialist resolutions to the current chaos. Given the prevalence of forces that undermine the political consciousness and concerted action of the international working class, it is clear that none of the political institutions that lead or seek to lead that class have the ability right now to engage in the type of robust long, or short term, forecasting and planning that appears to be happening in capitalist ruling class circles. Our call asks for contributions that seek to unpack and parse this planning and forecasting. We ask authors to critically consider what segments of the capitalist ruling class think the future looks like? What do they think the future should look like? What scenarios are they preparing for action and reaction? What are they up to and how are we responding, in the many places around the planet?

By contrast, what could a socialist solution and plan for a pandemic free future look like? We are currently being bombarded with headlines about British mutant viruses as well as South African, Brazilian and Indian variants, vaccine nationalism, one in a million allergic reactions, and the ubiquitous phrase “Coronavirus is here to stay”. These narratives have not helped with our collective efforts to conceive and construct socialist resolutions. In the current heat of the pandemic moment, pessimism, fear, lack of hope, virus-inspired culture wars and divided polities and authoritarian solutions seems to be offered to stem the ravages of COVID-19. Indeed, the international bourgeoisie thrives in an atmosphere of chaos, fear, hopelessness, and social atomization. Perhaps this is the reason for wild runups in share prices amidst death, conflict, combat, “virus fatigue”, the wholesale destruction of small businesses, and the ruination of petty bourgeoisies across the planet, many of whom seem to increasingly view nationalism, fascism, and nostalgia as the only solution to their untenable present and hopeless future.

While it is challenging to look to the future when the present is so chaotic, we ask contributors for insights that focus on different global contexts and to consider, from a socialist perspective, such questions as:

• What will the future look like?
• What should the future look like?
• How do we get from here to there?
• What class forces are at work?
• What is the nature of class antagonism?
• How has this been played out over the course of the pandemic and what does this herald for a post pandemic future?

Deadline: October 15, 2021 

Please submit here https://www.editorialmanager.com/dial/default.aspx (this opens in a new tab) and in the drop down menu for article type, select “Comment”.