Boris Johnson attributes UK's vaccine success to dead capitalism with a BS typical argument from the bankrupt neoliberalism

globinfo freexchange

 

It's almost grotesque the fact that many fans of capitalism still don't realize that capitalism is dead. And it's certainly grotesque the fact that they use the same, typical and obsolete bullshit arguments (coming straight from the bankrupt neoliberal ideology), to defend it.

 

It was UK's PM this time, Boris Johnson, who used such an argument to defend the already dead capitalism. An argument coming straight from the dustbin of history and from the grave of one of the most unpopular and unsuccessful PMs in UK's history: Maggie, the Iron Lady.

According to a Johnson's private call with Conservative MPs that has been circulated by the mainstream media, the British PM hailed the fact that more than 28 million people have been given a first jab in the UK, saying: “The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed my friends.”

 

The response to this BS not only came almost immediately, but it also came from the academic world.

 

As Professor Mariana Mazzucato (UCL Institute of Innovation & Public Purpose), stated, "Boris Johnson’s claim that ‘greed’ was the driver behind the UK’s vaccine success ignores the huge role of state funding ..."

 

Mazzucato added:  

 

                             This is not the first time that Johnson has taken the wrong economic lessons from the Covid crisis. A few months ago he said in the same spirit that for “those on the left, who think everything can be funded by uncle sugar the taxpayer … there comes a moment when the state must stand back and let the private sector get on with it”. Nor is Johnson the first person to have viewed the vaccines as a private sector coup. It’s worth remembering that the “AstraZeneca” vaccine was created by scientists at the University of Oxford and developed and distributed by the pharmaceutical giant. Yet the private sector has emerged as the victor in the public celebration of Covid vaccines.

 

                              In truth, an unprecedented amount of public funding has been poured into vaccine research, development and manufacturing. The leading six vaccine candidates have received an estimated $12bn (£8.7bn) of taxpayer and public money, including $1.7bn for the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab and $2.5bn for the Pfizer/BioNTech candidate. This level of investment represents a huge risk – but it’s not the only risk that the public sector has taken on. Governments have used “advanced market commitments” to guarantee that private companies that successfully produce a Covid-19 vaccine are amply rewarded with huge orders.

 

Yet, private companies have the monopoly of patents and refuse to share them - as they ought to do at least during such a terrible global health crisis - in order to maximize profits. 

Well, dear Boris. This is not "capitalism". It's 21st century corporate feudalism.