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In the essay, the present situation with the Corona Virus is addressed in terms of the Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. To be specific, the current paper refers to price gouging, the governmental reaction. Besides, a simple comparison between Shock Doctrine and the Second Precept is drawn.
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a book by Naomi Klein published in 2007. In her work, Klein dispels the myth that the global free market is strongly connected with democratic ideas. She demonstrates how neoliberal policies come after shocks (natural disasters or any crisis). The author argues that these measures work against people (as they are distracted from solving their lives problems), benefiting the global corporate elite (Gray, 2007).
The COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to one of the shocks described by Klein. In the current crisis, many people lost their relatives, and jobs, and faced many other difficulties associated with the pandemic situation. However, many retailers (online and offline) continue to gouge prices on essential goods, such as toilet rolls, hand sanitizers, and other cleaning products. Governments try to control the situation by implementing laws that prohibit price gouging in an emergency. Regardless of the fact, it is impossible to deny that, as Gray states (2007), the shock situation benefits the global corporate elite.
The Second Precept of Buddhism is translated as do not steal . It is important to mention that stealing in this context is not only theft, which is covered in the law, but also situations when people get advantages out of others, which is not illegal. The price gouging is stealing according to the second Precept, as retailers advantage over ordinary people that suffer from the COVID-19 crisis.
Comparing Shock Doctrine and the second Precept, it can be said that they both refer to moral values. Neither examples described in Shock Doctrine by Klein, nor stealing in the second Precept are against the law, but they can be considered unethical, violating morally correct behavior. Thus, it will always be a philosophical issue of whether to follow a moral law or not. However, in crises situations, as in the current pandemic, governments should control the behaviors of different actors to protect the interests of the majority.
Reference
Gray, J. (2007). The end of the world as we know it. The Guardian.
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