French 1990s philosopher in favor of Palestine: Corona exposed the ugliness of capitalism and Darwinism and the impotence of Europe

The global capitalist system led to the convergence of parts of the world on the technical and economic levels, which created a great paradox revealed by the Corona pandemic, as this interdependence between peoples and nations did not encourage understanding between countries, and the ease of travel and movement around the world contributed to the spread of the pandemic.

In his book, "Where Does the World Go?" French philosopher and sociologist Edgar Morin considered that progress does not mean the benefit of humanity, as an indication of the exploitation of the major countries of modern technology in their favor, and the failure of man to eliminate brutality, and predicted in his book that the history of the world will not stop violence and shocks, considering that we still live the values ​​of the Iron Age.

At the time of the Corona pandemic, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera interviewed the French philosopher through the application of Skype, from his residence in the French city of Montpellier, where he spends a quarantine period like millions of Europeans, and said in the dialogue, "I am 98 years old, and I know very well that I am from a segment Corona's favorite victims, but anyway, it is best to think about life and what is happening in the world today. "

Moran - whose books have been translated into Arabic - believes that globalization has turned the world into a big market, through advanced technology that has brought the distances between continents closer, but at the same time, overcoming the obstacle of distances has not led to the establishment of dialogue between peoples. Indeed, this situation reinforced the idea of ​​seclusion on identity and the rise of dangerous national policies, according to the French philosopher in his dialogue with the writer Nocheo Uridini, Professor of Italian Philosophy.

"This global market in which we live has not been able to create feelings of brotherhood among peoples, on the contrary it has created a state of fear from the future. Today, the Corona virus has come to highlight this paradox and make it more visible to everyone, this situation reminds me of the economic crisis In the thirties of the last century, when European countries, especially Germany, headed towards extremist nationalism.

The French philosopher - of Spanish Jewish origin (Sephardim) - is known for his stances in favor of the Palestinians' right to establish a state of their own, and an article he wrote in Le Monde newspaper denouncing Israeli policy led to French courts in 2004.

Wild capitalism
Moran believes that the developments of capitalist economics are the ones that created the major problems facing the planet now, such as the destruction of the environment and the general crisis in democratic systems, the growing class inequality and the absence of justice between people, the race for armaments and the rise of parties and authoritarian and demagogic parties, as happens in the United States and Brazil.

"The boom in economics, money, and goods was believed to have united the world, but in reality it only created a huge market, without spirit, awareness or knowledge. And we became just customers, not individuals in the human family. Not only that, but this capitalism Wildness has destroyed the environment, democracy and social equality. This paradox can be observed on a small scale, by looking at personal relationships between people, as the outbreak of the virus is a challenge to the underlying ideology that dominated the election campaigns in recent years, when we witnessed repeated selfish slogans such as “America First, "" Franz A first, ”“ Italians first, ”and“ Brazil first of all. ”They were slogans that presented a distorted image of humanity, and made it seem as though everyone represented an island isolated from others.

Optimism
In his dialogue with the Italian newspaper, Moran believes that it is necessary today to encourage the creation of a kind of mutual awareness among the world's population, on humanitarian grounds, in order to encourage cooperation.

"This epidemic has shown us that humanity is a united continent and that humans are deeply connected to each other. As we are in these difficult moments of unity and isolation, far from feelings, friends and society, we have become more aware of our need for the other. And many have raised the slogan that I will stay at home not only To protect myself but also to protect others who are part of my community. "

Moran says the precautions and health measures imposed to counter the spread of the virus have forced people to stay at home and awaken the feelings of the brothers in them. In France, for example, every evening at eight o'clock, people go out to the windows and balconies to applaud and salute the doctors and hospital crews who work in the first line in fighting the disease. In Italy, too, people go out to balconies to perform the national anthem and dance to the tunes of popular music.

But the French philosopher warns that experiences have also taught us that serious crises can exacerbate the phenomena of closure, given that some begin directly in search of a scapegoat to blame, which is usually the foreigner or immigrant. Such crises can encourage the acceptance of migrants, or conversely close the door to them.

European emergency
Moran also believes that Europe in the face of the health emergency crisis revealed once again its inability to jointly plan and implement support and solidarity strategies. The European Union, which has become a mere group of politicians and bankers, committed a massacre against the true European values. During the past decades, every attempt to create a common and unified awareness was aborted, and today every country within the Union manages its crisis separately, without any real coordination.

Moran hopes that from the womb of this crisis will generate the collective spirit that will enable the Europeans to overcome the mistakes of the past, the most important of which is the mismanagement of the migratory flow crisis, giving priority to financial accounts before human values, and the absence of a European European policy.

He considered that the statement of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the dark and shocking at the beginning of the crisis, when he asked the British to prepare for the separation of their loved ones and watching thousands of victims of the virus, is a blatant example of the preference for economic accounts on the human side, since capitalist systems are ready to sacrifice the vulnerable and vulnerable groups, i.e. the elderly and the sick, It is fully consistent with the logic of natural selection and Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest.

And in this crisis, just as it does in the market economy, those who cannot compete are destined to perish, and the French philosopher considers that applying this logic to humans reveals the cruelty of neo-liberalism, and therefore the creation of a real human society today first begins with standing up to this thought Social Darwinism at any cost.

Cautious optimism
Moran notes that another bright side of this crisis is the positive kind of globalization, which is the engagement of researchers from all over the world in international cooperation to overcome the virus, which is shown, for example, through the arrival of Chinese and Cuban doctors in Italy.

Moran adds that these events really represent positive news and a sign of hope, as there is a global network of researchers that make efforts for the benefit of mankind, and works cross-country, language and ethnic.

In the same context, Moran warns of the consequences of the deterioration of the government health services sector in Europe and America, due to the prevalence of capitalist thought, viewing the patient as a commodity, and turning hospitals into mere companies.

He pointed out that such contradictions in the United States, for example, could lead to a violent explosion, and that is why we must anticipate events and generalize health care for all. As a country in which hospitalization and access to medicines is restricted to the wealthy cannot stand up to the epidemic, and leaving the majority of the people to face their own destiny means the spread of the virus without any ability to contain it, and it is unfortunate that the health care program launched by Barack Obama, Donald Trump rushed to Destroying him, as the French philosopher put it.

Moran also notes that globalization and the current crisis revealed the short-sighted industrial policies of countries. Europe, for example, suffers from a major shortage of medical masks, because it made a mistake in the past when it got rid of this industry and left it to China, because of its lack of profitability.

Moran stresses that health care and education are the foundations of human dignity, as the right to life and the right to education are among the most important conditions for the progress of nations. But the problem is that these two sectors are under corporate governance and capitalist thought.

Moran concludes the dialogue by saying, "It is not possible to accept the continuation of the management of hospitals, schools and universities on the basis of financial profit. Rather, consideration should be given to establishing citizens with brains, by returning to dependence on government services, which have declined a lot in recent decades."