When the City Stopped
I moved to New York City in January 2011. My case couldn’t be more cliche, “privileged immigrant with a suitcase full of dreams in pursuit of a successful career as a filmmaker”. Now is when someone usually says, “bless his heart”. But yeah, just another one of many thousands. I have had good moments, bad moments, and moments that I have chosen to forget. The way this city crushes and humbles you is beyond description. I didn’t know anybody here when I first arrived. Actually, I had never been to NYC before. I can say that I have had my share of hustle-and-bustle. Big time. I know for a fact that this city doesn’t stop or wait for anyone or anything. Its indifference towards you is simply merciless.
I’ve been photographing and filming this city from the moment I got here. For me, it’s always been a beautiful beast. A Babylonian swarm that flows with the ardor of an overpopulated megacity. Until a few weeks ago. When the circumstances forced the city to stop. An invisible, unknown enemy, in the form of a virus, closed schools, universities, museums, parks, restaurants, shops, and workplaces, and locked up its citizens in their homes. To imagine the streets of NYC empty is only typical of dystopian, science fiction worlds. To see deserted streets and avenues in NYC, like a ghost town, has no better word than extraordinary. But what I found the most impactful was to be able to hear the silence. Or to be more precise, to be able to listen to the birds singing in Manhattan. That was surreal.
I am aware of how hard this unprecedented situation is for so many people. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have all family members and friends in good health, for now, can’t stop thinking about the future. About the uncertainty of tomorrow. As if we hadn’t enough uncertainty already. They say: this is a good moment to stop and reflect. I agree. I am a huge fan of revisiting certain things. Especially things that have to do with life. I’ve been hearing a lot that when this crisis is over, because this too shall pass, the world will be different. And I wonder, different, but different how. Everybody needs to cope with this terrifying scenario in a different way. Some are more spiritual, others are more practical. Regardless of the approach, when we wake up the day this is over and it’s time to build a new order, it is up to us to decide in which ways it will be different.
Joseph Stiglitz wrote in November 2019: “The credibility of neoliberalism’s faith in unfettered markets as the surest road to shared prosperity is on life-support these days. And well it should be. The simultaneous waning of confidence in neoliberalism and in democracy is no coincidence or mere correlation. Neoliberalism has undermined democracy for 40 years. […] If the 2008 financial crisis failed to make us realize that unfettered markets don’t work, the climate crisis certainly should: neoliberalism will literally bring an end to our civilization. But it is also clear that demagogues who would have us turn our back on science and tolerance will only make matters worse. The only way forward, the only way to save our planet and our civilization, is a rebirth of history. We must revitalize the enlightenment and recommit to honoring its values of freedom, respect for knowledge and democracy.”
Vicenç Navarro wrote a few days ago: “This pandemic is showing the need to profoundly change the balance of forces within states, in order to eliminate the excessive influence of particular interests that hinder the achievement of the common good. This requires a change in each State and also in the way in which these States relate to each other; it is necessary to change the orientation of current globalization, based on the control of the so-called "market" by a few hands, recognizing the interdependence between countries and the need for a collective response based on scientific knowledge, popular will and common benefit. Hence, the adversaries of these changes are the same factors that created the climate crisis and the pandemic: neoliberalism, promoter of the interests of a minority, and populist nationalism, which systematically puts individual interests before those of the whole. The seriousness of the current problem requires more substantial changes in the economic and political order of the societies in which we live than those that are now being considered. The evidence of this is overwhelming.”
Even The Financial Times editorial board has said: "Radical reforms - reversing the political direction that has prevailed in the last four decades - should be on the table. Governments will have to accept a more active role in the economy. They should see public services as investments, not burdens, and look for ways to make labor markets less insecure. Redistribution will be debated again; the privileges of the elderly and the wealthiest will be questioned. Policies considered eccentric so far, such as basic income and higher income taxes, will have to be part of the proposals."
When Bernie Sanders said everyone should have healthcare as a right, some people called it socialism. Now they are begging for free tests and treatment and healthcare that is not tied to their job. When Sanders said workers should be guaranteed paid sick leave, some people called it socialism. Now they are begging for paid leave as companies close and people are laid off. When Sanders said every child in the US should have high-quality child care and universal school meals, some people called it socialism. Now schools are closed and they need child care and food for their kids. When Sanders wanted to cancel all student loan debt to help millions of struggling Americans, they called it socialism. Now they are begging for student loan relief. When Sanders wanted national rent control so landlords can’t jack up rent prices as high as they want and kick tenants out unfairly, they called it socialism. Now they are begging for landlords not to evict them during this time. When Sanders said all people should be making a living wage of at least $15/hr, they called it socialism. Now they are literally relying on those same people at the grocery store, supermarket, child care, cleaners, and other minimum wage jobs, to survive.
When governments use trillions of dollars of taxpayer money to bail out corporations, even though those corporations could stay in business by borrowing money at minimum rates using their own assets as collateral, nobody calls it socialism. The reality is that, despite its name, the era of neoliberalism has been far from liberal. We have always had a kind of socialism. Working for the rich only though. Privatizing profits and socializing losses. We are starting to see now who are the true heroes of our society: nurses, doctors, scientists, farmworkers, postal workers, teachers, grocery store workers, truckers, first responders. Workers keep the country going, not billionaires.
It’s becoming clearer that everyone’s health and well-being should exist apart from ideology. If any State wants to be a strong State, it needs to be a social State with solid public services. It’s ok if we didn’t see the urgency of this before the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s not quite ok if we don’t see it from now on. The coronavirus pandemic has clearly exposed a barbaric and inhuman socio-economic system. And, in addition, inefficient, unable to provide even such trivial objects as pieces of cloth, plastic gowns or glasses. The coronavirus has highlighted the importance of personal relationships, the need to protect and expand community areas, close economic relationships, and the obligation that the State, as an organizational form of society, must be directly responsible for the well-being of its citizens. I am eager to see if, once this pandemic is over, after reflecting, we start building a new order in which we are able to re-assign our social values.
