The Year(s) of Living Dangerously
Between political tumult, racial tensions, the worsening climate crisis, a deteriorating economy, and a deadly pandemic, 2020 is easily the most pivotal year since 1968. The material conditions that make plain the failures of our current system are more palpable than ever. But this isn’t the result of a singular year. It’s taken decades to reach this moment of reckoning — and the only silver lining is that an ascendant Left is better positioned now than ever to lead the fight for a better world.
Most retrospectives on 2020 are going to be utterly miserable to read. We’ve spent far too much time wallowing in the anguish the year has brought us: for many, it’s the loss of a friend or loved one, for others still it’s the loss of anything resembling economic comfort, or even the basics like food and shelter. If the coronavirus has done anything, it’s given the whole of the American system a stress test.
The results are damning for a nation that claims greatness over all others.
By June, nearly 16 million people had lost their job due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and 14.6 million people had lost their employer-provided health insurance. One in six Americans — more than 50 million people — have experienced food insecurity. Roughly the same amount of people were behind on their rent in September, and roughly 34 million are at continued…
