Panic on Pandemic
The book review of Pandemic! Covid-19 Shakes The World, Žižek’s Talk About Pandemic Covid-19
Did you sick talking about pandemic which felt never end? So do I hahaha… But, Slavoj Žižek made it better. In his book, which released on 2020, he “spiel” about pandemic and how to survive it. Not only pandemic as a single phenomenon, but pandemic as an influential phenomenon which can emerge more crisis.
The unique thing in this book is both of Indonesian and original version highlight the “Panic” word — which the part of Pandemic word — in the title on the cover. Of course, it happened with a reason. I think the purpose is to represent the whole of book’s content. Yes, it does.
I defined panic as the reaction when we were not ready to face new things (or condition) which ongoing happened or would be face. Panic also described the condition about being closer to the edge. According to Žižek in this book, panic is the first reaction in the society when people heard and should realized the existance about corona virus. Žižek want to open our eyes with the emphasis in “panic” word to realized us that people all over the world are panic because of Covid-19 changes our fundamental lives.
Both of us and Žižek can’t even predict accurately when Covid-19 over. In this book, Žižek explained his opinion not just incredibly but also provocatively. Žižek argued that Covid-19 is not just about health and scientific life. It’s also about political and social well-being. Hence, the scientific intervention to fight for pandemic is not enough. We need social intervention to complement it. As we both know, pandemic is not over. Although, we entered vaccinated phase in pandemic life, but, the cases of Covid-19 still exist now.
Žižek argued — he quoted the argument from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s book titled On Death and Dying — there is five steps how we response Covid-19. First is rejection. We reject the fact that the corona virus existed. The second is anger. It happened when we can’t deny that corona virus is REALLY existed and the fact it is. Rejection and anger sometimes occurred simultaneously. The third is bargaining. In this step, we admitted that corona virus is really exist, but we do bargained with the condition by decrease the facts. The fourth is depression. In this step, we realized that we can’t deny the fact that we live with corona virus now, but we begin to get indifferent to it. The last step — fifth — is acceptance. In this step, we accept that we live in Covid-19 pandemic now and we can’t deny it anymore. We begin our “new life” by continue coexisting with the virus by making adjustments.
In political hand, Žižek see that Covid-19 is the field for power “to fishing in trouble water” when freedom of speech is silenced. The government and power holder should accommodate aspirations from community, specially from scientific experts. That’s because there will be so many opinions and aspirations about Covid-19 and how to deal with it which emerge in community. Further, Žižek predict about military coup, legitimizing the extension of the presidential term, passing laws that do not favor the people, and barbarism which might be to occur amid the current Covid-19 pandemic. The panic situation which ongoing happened in this society because of Covid-19 — according to Žižek — is something arraged by power holder. The worse thing is the ecological crisis is also getting worse due to the deadly duet combination between the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the arbitrariness of the authorities. The presence of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to show the dark side of social life in the world. Quoted from this book, Žižek said that we all in the same boat now: life in crisis Covid-19 and try to fight tru it.
Hence, in this book, Žižek offered the solution in the form of the application of communism at the global level. Humanitarian-based policies are needed at this time. Žižek argued that global society should must be up hold solidarity in order to get through the Covid-19 pandemic. The dominating countries which dominated other countries must have moral responsibility to give a hand to dominated countries so they can still survive during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the dominated countries still embedded with the dominating countries. In this case, Žižek gave example by reflecting what happened between Palestine and Israel during Covid-19. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was offered assistance and coordination to the Palestinian Authority in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is not such a “free lunch” for Palestine, but rather to keep the Jews inseparable from the Palestinians.
In the end of this book, Žižek argued that there is no way for the “old normal” — which we had thru before pandemic — can happen again after this pandemic (possibly) end. That’s because Covid-19 changed our everyday reality radically. A picture of this case which closest in our “new life” is the lockdown policy. I guess almost people all over the world felt it — being in lockdown, either it’s micro or large lockdown. Žižek argued that now people don’t need to ask how others just stay at home for a long day, moreover in the longtime condition. Staying at home for obey the lockdown’s rule as a form of public participation in controlling the spread of the corona virus has become common sense at this time. So, people tend not to asking the reason why other people just stay at home all day long, even for days. Before corona virus hit the world, staying at home is a choice. People may ask you why you not go out if you just stay at home for a while.
When pandemic (may) over, living in that situation would be full of uncertainty — would we still be able to enjoy holiday safely, would we still have money for living, and so on. Basic needs — clothes, foods, and shelters — must be guaranteed because those are more valuable in this situation. As we learn from the Covid-19 pandemic which everyone had to stay at home for controlling the spread of corona virus. How people can stay at home when they don’t have it and the other basic needs — clothes and foods — to continue their live at home? Moreover, people are asked to keep their self clean and healthy so they can prevent the virus enter their immune system. How people can do it if they don’t have access for livable housing and guaranteed healthy food? We need new global order which more humanist so all of people in the world can struggle together in the uncertainty situation in post pandemic.
This book is “mandatory reading” for all of us who are going through the joys and sorrows of the Covid-19 pandemic. The content does not just only discuss about Covid-19 pandemic, but also discuss what currently and will happened as the result of the pandemic. Actually, what we both fight is not just against the virus, but also against the inhumanity of life that occurs in this world. Corona virus help us to figure out that clearly.
Actually, I guess it’s a bit late to talk about it now because recently we are in vaccination phase. But, I think the incidents which mentioned by Žižek in this book are still happening today as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. By the way, a sequel to this book has also been published with the title: Pandemic 2! Chronicles of a Time Lost.
Stay safe and healthy, all 😉
