Article Preview
Top1. Introduction
1.1 Trends of Global Perception Towards COVID-19
Since Wuhan Municipal Health Commission of China made the first public announcement of a pneumonia outbreak of unknown cause on 31 December 2019, it spreads very rapidly throughout the globe and United Sates alone recorded more than 220,000 cases of deaths as of now. It seems that governments throughout the world have been given roles by their peoples to over-protect them. During much less prosperous times of the past, death was seen by many as a God-given release from earthly torments and afflictions. Now with the decline of religious observance, political forces are seen to be agents capable of delivering avoidance from death. The threat of economic instability is perceived by many to be of less significance compared with the demise of those with already underlying health issues.
1.2 Is This Another ‘Malthusian Moment’?
Karl Marx suggested that there are sometimes few changes in social developments over several decades while, on occasions, there are multiple changes within a few months. It is obvious that the latter is prevalent now. Sometime later in history, all of us might be interpreted as being situated in a ‘Malthusian moment’. The pandemic could have somehow led our days to see the phenomenon as a part of the evolutionary progress in which humans battle viruses and develop collective immunity. Although it might not be a popular view, as Thomas Malthus observed, it is necessary on occasions for populations to be culled by natural occurrences. Therefore, a primary need is for the young to be affected by a virus and develop natural immunity in order to protect future generations. When vaccines can be developed, further protection is granted to a group / tribe / nation / population.
2. Uk Situations Then And Now
2.1 Last Pandemic
The last pandemic to be experienced in the UK was the ‘Asian Flu’ outbreak of 1957 (Jackson, 2009). The estimated number of deaths it caused was 1.1 million worldwide with 116,000 of Unites States alone, and it is about the same scale of deaths COVID-19 has caused so far. During the time of Asian Flu the residents in the UK were not praised for resilience nor admonished for taking risks. It was just accepted. There was clearly a sense of national unity about ‘carrying on’ and not making a fuss. This contrasts with the present situation where political stances have dominated. These are based on different approaches and strategies shown by the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Another factor has been the apparent annoyance shown by some members of the British media to the results of the Brexit Referendum in 2017 and the return of a Conservative government with a greatly increased majority in 2019.
2.2 Dismantlement of Unity by Devolved Governments
The United Kingdom had been more or less ‘united’ with a common purpose for several centuries. However, the Scottish National Party has been a dominate, and now a majority, force in its nation’s politics for the past 50 years. It leads a movement wanting independence. The Welsh has had its own Parliament since 1999; while the Northern Ireland Assembly has been operating since 1998, and these elected organisations like to show their power, on occasions, by opposing the central government at Westminster. Opportunities for opposition, criticism and dissent have been apparent since the lockdown and politicians do what they are good at, drawing attention to the shortcomings of others and devising measures of their own. This coincides with the recent poll result by Redfield & Wilton in that 49 percent of the respondents do not believe that the government is currently taking the right measures with only 35 percent do agree with the government policies.