The pandemic had been predicted long before its appearance, but actions to prepare for such a crisis were barred by the cruel imperatives of an economic order in which “there’s no profit in preventing a future catastrophe,” Noam Chomsky points out in this exclusive interview for Truthout. Chomsky is emeritus professor of linguistics at MIT and laureate professor at the University of Arizona, author of more than 120 books and thousands of articles and essays. In the interview that follows, he discusses how neoliberal capitalism itself is behind the U.S.’s failed response to the pandemic.

"The United States has the world’s highest number of known cases of COVID-19, the flu-like respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. More than 306,000 people have tested positive in the United States and over 8,300 have died, according to a Reuters tally."

The current crisis response is wrapped in a fog that conceals its true politics. The population is asked to believe that our politicians are not as partisan as they were just four weeks ago. We are to believe they have charted a new course bringing workers and business together. Look more closely and you will see they are barely wavering from the path they were on before they heard about the novel coronavirus.

Michael Hudson on NPR on the a policy that seems radical but entirely sensible.

As the secular crisis of capitalism takes on a seemingly non-economic character, new epidemics, famines, floods and other “natural” disasters will be used as a justification for the extension of st…

We believe that the outcome of this crisis will depend very much on the voices of citizens and organised civil society: whatever we stand up for now will shape tomorrow’s future. This is why we’re joining forces with allies to present our demands.

· We are demanding safeguards in all public funding going to Big Pharma, so that any vaccines and treatments against COVID-19 can be free of charge.

· We are denouncing how the authoritarian right is taking advantage of this crisis to stage a dangerous power grab, such as in Hungary, and demanding immediate action to protect our democracies.

· We are advocating a Just Recovery that puts people’s needs and rights first, to create a better future in the wake of this crisis.

COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the second severe acute respiratory syndrome virus since 2002, is now officially a pandemic. As of late March, whole cities are sheltered in…