The Covid Consensus The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor?A Critique from the Left

During the first years of the pandemic, the political mainstream agreed that 'following the science' with hard lockdowns and vaccine mandates was the best way to preserve life. But social science reveals the true human cost of this policy.
The Covid Consensus provides an internationalist-left perspective on the world's Covid-19 response, which has had devastating consequences for democratic rights and the poor worldwide. As the fortunes of the richest soared, nationwide shutdowns devastated small businesses, the working classes and the Global South's informal economies. Gender-based violence surged, and the mental health of young people was severely compromised. Meanwhile, unprecedented health restrictions prevented participation in daily life without proof of vaccination.
Toby Green and Thomas Fazi argue that these policies grossly exacerbated existing trends of inequality, mediatization and surveillance, with grave implications for the future. Rich in human detail, The Covid Consensus tackles head-on the refusal of the global political class and mainstream media to report the true extent of the erosion of democratic processes and the socioeconomic assault on the poor. As the world emerges from the pandemic to confront new modes of monitoring and control, this left-wing reappraisal of global Covid policies exposes the injustices and political failings that have produced the biggest crisis since the Second World War.

Toby Green is Professor of African History at King's College London, and author of A Fistful of Shells.

Thomas Fazi is the author and co-author of several books on economic and political issues, including
Reclaiming the State. His article with Toby Green for UnHerd, "The Left's Covid Failure," was translated into ten languages.