One of the tenets of disaster capitalism is that it is necessary for most people to continue to act normally — keep patronising businesses both local and online, frequent restaurants and coffee shops, and, you know, take that vacation anyway! Hop on that cruise ship! You, like, deserve it. Advising people to do this works in two ways: They spend money, and have the illusion of control over an uncontrollable situation. And there’s no doubt that it does actually help small and local businesses when they have dedicated patrons. But what the coronavirus pandemic is proving once and for all, is that this help not only isn’t going to be enough, but that it should never be the responsibility of individual consumers to keep the economy afloat — especially when so many of them suddenly find themselves un- or under-employed, and financially unstable.