THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The manner in which Kerala dealt with Covid-19 has surprised the world, said political thinker Noam Chomsky. He was addressing the ‘Kerala Dialogue’, launched by the state government on Friday. The event brings together leading thinkers, policy makers, professionals, scientists and the general public on a common platform where they can rethink and reimagine development for a world disrupted by the pandemic.
“Only a few places in the world have fared well when the virus spread its tentacles. Vietnam, which has a nearly 1,400 km border with China, has not reported even a single Covid-related death. Similarly, Taiwan and Hong Kong managed to rein in the virus while New Zealand completely wiped it out,” said Chomsky “But the US, the proponent of the liberalisation, has witnessed over 1 lakh deaths. The setback in Germany which adopted neoliberalism did not equal that of the US. The countries which opened up their public health system to private sector suffered the worst,” he said.
‘Strong public health system helped Kerala’
After nearly 40 years of liberalisation, around 0.1 per cent people in the US has amassed around 20 per cent of America’s wealth, Chomsky said. Responding to a question, he said: “I don’t think Covid will bring about any basic shift in the world’s thinking. Countries like the US will become more imperialistic and introduce more stringent restrictions and arrangements to monitor people. But organisations like Progressive International have been emerging and if all these establishments are brought together, a change can be effected,” he said.
Covid has also shed light on the unusual discrimination that exists in the world which is more evident in America, he added.Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen said the strong public health system and network nurtured by Kerala helped it contain the spread of Covid-19. However, the way in which the Indian government announced the lockdown cast doubts on its effectiveness.
The government should have discussed the lockdown decision at least with the political parties and trade unions before announcing it, he said.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Kerala Dialogue is an attempt to make a new Kerala after the pandemic.Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist, WHO, also featured in the first dialogue.