Social Dimensions of COVID-19
Social Dimensions of COVID-19.
2. Michael Mann’s definition on power
3. Expert opinion on how to handle the Corona virus.
4. The state and their response to the COVID-19
Title: The sociological analysis of how the Corona Virus pandemic has resulted
in economic and social changes
1. Introduction
The Corona virus has resulted in many countries
around the world to implement social and economic changes. Most countries were
forced to put in place strict regulations that will help control the pace at
which the virus spreads. In South Africa there was a national level 5 lockdown
that was implemented in early March. This required citizens around the country
to remain in their homes, unless if they needed to do essential grocery
shopping or go to the clinic or pharmacy. There were strict measures in place,
such as sanitizing hands, checking temperature and having to wear a mask before
entering any public place or transport. The virus did not only affect our
health, it also caused a lot of social and economic catastrophes (Pleyers
2020:1-2). In this essay I will provide a sociological analysis of how
different sectors in the society (experts, state, business) responded to the
crisis caused by COVID-19 as well as how these different groups are affected. I
will also reflect on how technology has shaped societies response to the COVID
19 pandemic and consider how different people have different levels of access
to these technologies.
2. Michael Mann’s definition on power
Michael Mann defines power as ‘The ability to
pursue and attain goals through the mastery of the environment’ (Haralambos and
Holborn 2013: 580). Collective power is the type of power that is needed to be
used to get a huge sum of the population to listen to those in charge
(President and the ministers) and follow the rules of lock down. This was
exercised through authoritative power, where a command was issued to remain in
our homes and if not, there would be consequences for breaking those commands. There
was no coercion, however there were cases were military power would be used on
those who did not follow the rules (Haralambos and Holborn 2013: 580).
3.
Expert opinion on how to handle the Corona virus.
The decisions that were made on how to respond
to the Corona virus were mostly based on what the experts would suggest based
on what they considered safe for people's health and the economy. (Cashore and
Bernstein 2020:1) looked at four problems that were raised when trying to come
up with careful ways to respond to the crisis of COVID-19 I will speak of two.
The first concern was the increase in demand and
supply. Experts were concerned about how some companies would over produce
their crops to maintain or keep up with the demands. These were unnecessary
demands that were made because consumers were panic buying. Panic buying meant
that there would be a shortage of items for some people who really needed
certain products, stores were often out of stock due to this panic buying. The
consequences of this behaviour were to increase the prices of items or have
some individuals punished for over purchasing (Cashore and Bernstein 2020: 1).
The second concern was how this crisis would
affect the economy. Experts had to look at how the state donating funds, having
food shelters and homes for those that are homeless and are without proper
health care were going to be taken care of, the funding for hospital beds, or items
that are related to medical needs, while having to deal with the shutting down
of the economic activities by closing down business’s to contain the spread of
the virus. They had to look at all these problems that would arise and find the
best solution possible, these solutions should not lead to another big crisis
that will harm the economy (Cashore and Bernstein 2020: 2).
4.
The state and their response to the COVID-19
Auld, Cashore and Levin (2020:2-3) realized that
the pandemic has no specific central authority figure which dictates how each
country should respond. Each country, based on the type of leader that runs it,
responds how they see fit for the benefit of its people's health and mostly the
economy. The authors note that even the World Health Organization has no upper
hand in the crisis and is subjected to follow the demands made by those who
have economic power over them. The decisions they make are those that are
related to health and responding to health crises; however, they do make suggestions-based
on expert opinion.
In South Africa President Ramaphosa exercised authoritative
use of power towards his people to manage the spread of the virus. He stated a
command and the citizens had to follow. The decisions made by the president
affected many people differently. These decisions highlighted the loopholes
that already existed in the country. Loopholes such as inequality, poverty, and
unemployment.
’The COVID 19 has octopus like tentacles as it possesses
not only health problems but physical as well as mental challenges’ (Auld,
Cashore and Levin 2020:3), for instance, the Lockdown did not result in positive
outcomes with regards to economic status. Lockdown caused many businesses to
shut down which resulted in job losses for some citizens. This led to many
citizens who were faced with hunger and anxiety, not having a job, meant no
food, no money to pay rent, no money to pay school fees and many other problems
that ultimately could lead to depression.
There were however relief packages administered
by the government to respond to the economic crisis the citizens faced. These
included ‘Food parcels, shelters for the homeless, supplying clean water and
medical measure such as tracking and testing, quarantining as well as effective
treatment.’ (Bua Komanisi 2020: 6-7). Restaurants, big events, visitation of
families and even the attending of funerals was restricted to a certain number
of individuals.
5.
Businesses
The lockdown in South Africa caused businesses that
were not selling essential items (restaurants, liquor and cigarette stores,
hair salons) to be closed. There was a temporary relief fund that was given to
companies depending on how many employees they had and whether they are
registered, it would temporarily cover their salaries (Runciman and Dor 2020:
2-3).
Essential workers (those that worked at grocery
stores, pharmacy and other companies that were open during the lockdown) were given
protective gear such as masks, goggles, sanitizers as well as education on how
to use the items. There were barriers separating the customers from the employees
to maintain a 1m distance. Employers had every right to say no to working if
they felt their health is in danger (Runciman and Dor 2020: 2-3).
6. The
role technology played
Instrumentalist view on power highlights how
those who occupy state positions come from backgrounds that are wealthy. This results
in them making decisions that would benefit them and not really cater for those
who are of lower class (Haralambos and Holborn 2013: 556-557). The pandemic has
resulted in all educational institutions to shut down. This raised questions of
how learning will proceed.
In South Africa, there were suggestions made by
the state (President and the ministers) that learning should be moved to online
platforms. This benefits those who have access to laptops, data, and proper
living conditions (Levi 2020:2). These suggestions were quickly rejected
because it ignored the social realities that existed.
There are inequalities that are evident in
communities. There are some learners who do not live in conditions that are
suitable for learning, these conditions are often occupied by the bad network
coverage, that is needed to secure connection to be able to stay online, They
come from families who do not work and may not afford data, electricity is an
issue in some communities and can often disturb an individual because they have
no lighting to complete their school work, some learners do not even have
devices that will allow them to go online and receive their school work and do
it, they may fall behind because of this (Levi 2020: 2-3).
Higher education ministers noted these
differences and made it a mission to administer devices to those who do not
have, data was also allocated every month, so that no student falls behind.
Lecturers tried their best to ensure that students could keep up with the work
given. Online learning may have highlighted the inequalities that exist and may
have seemed to benefit those who are from wealthy backgrounds, however methods
that were implemented ensured that learning can proceed and technology played a
huge role in that. If it were not for technology, the academic year as well as
some business would have been put on hold until the virus is contained,
resulting in learners and students falling fall behind, because teaching would
not proceed. This also applies to work. Some companies needed to operate the
best way they could and holding online meetings, or submitting work online
ensured that things continued to run smoothly, and the company does not fall
behind.
7.Conclusion
The pandemic has resulted in a lot of social and
economic problems. These problems emphasized the already existing issues within
the communities. There is no central authority and each country is governed by
their ministers, who decide the way forward to try and protect their citizens. In
South Africa measures have been put in place to try and limit the spread of the
virus, this has caused a lot of economic issues and has affected many people in
different ways. Technology has helped with the progression of online learning,
for some learners who can and students who were given data and devices to
proceed with learning and not fall behind. The pandemic has not only affected
our health but has had and economic and social impact.
References
Auld, G, Cashore, B and Levin, K. 2020. ‘Managing
COVID-19 as a Super Wicked Problem:
Lessons from. and for, the climate crisis’. Accessed 19 August 2020, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342201345_Managing_COVID 19_as_a_Super_Wicked_Problem_Lessons_from_and_for_the_Climate_Cris.
Bua
Komanisi. 2020. ‘We can’t go back to the crisis before the crisis’. Bua
Komanisi, 13(1): 1-19.
Cashore, B and Bernstein, S. 2020. ‘Why experts
Disagree on how to manage COVID 19:
Four problem conceptions, Not one’. Accessed 19 August 2020, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340916567_Why_Experts_Disagr on How
Manage_COVID-19_Four_Problem_Conceptions_Not_One
Haralambos, M and Holborn, M. 2013. Sociology
Themes and perspectives. United Kingdom:
Collins Educational.
Levi. 2020. ‘Public Universities with a public
conscience: A proposed plan for social pedagogy
alternative in the time of the pandemic’. Accessed 25 August 2020, https://c19peoplescoalition.org.za/statement-plan-for-a-social-pedagogy/.
Pleyers, G. 2020. ‘A plea for global sociology
in terms of the coronavirus’. Accessed 19
August 2020, https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/publications/isa-digital worlds/global-sociology-and-the-coronavirus.
Runciman, C and Dor, L. 2020. Profit for
workers lives? Employer responses to the COVID-19
pandemic. Johannesburg: Centre for social change.
but how is this relevant to the topic?
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