As much as the event following 9/11 triggered massive changes in our understanding of privacy rights and increased our level of acceptance of government infringement on individuals' freedom, the pandemic of the SARS-COV-2 is threatening to change our understanding of societal hierarchy and democratic process In this essay, we imagine a society where two classes, defined by their susceptibility to infection, emerge, and a neo-feudal system is established We suggest that it is possible to evaluate how likely a dystopian outcome is by using Machiavelli's understanding of the impact of the Plague on medieval Florence We also recommend following his advice to avoid such a drift by reaffirming the primacy of politics over scientism Copyright © 2021 Andrea Molle
SARS-COV-2 and the (Dark) future of society: A machiavellian approach to the end of body sovereignty and the beginning of bio-feudalism