COVID-19: The state cannot save us

“Any society confronting the politics of ‘making live and letting die’ elicited by an epidemic needs to respond at least at two levels. One is at the level of state, which is required to act on behalf of society as a whole, ensuring the availability of resources within large systems and networks, and shaping the broader risk environment. The other is at the level of everyday life, in which individuals and communities must mobilise an ethics and technology of care for self and others, changing their behaviours locally to reduce the risk of transmission.”