The outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the limits of the dominant ideologies Western liberals champion global solutions to unlock ever-more individual liberty, whereas communities want greater state protection and social solidarity National populists or authoritarians from the United States to Brazil, Eastern Europe, India, and China offer simplistic slogans and blame foreign forces, whereas countries need real leadership and international cooperation to be more resilient We face a conflict between liberal calls for greater global technocracy and an authoritarian retreat to national isolation Both worldviews are ugly Utopias with dystopian consequences They rest on the Utopian promise of biosurveil-lance, disruptive technology, and capitalism to restore prosperity coupled with public health In reality, the emerging economic models are based on the Darwinist power of the strong over the weak the oligarchy of U S tech platforms and of Chinese state corporations raises questions about citizenship and what makes us human A revived social Darwinism erodes the dignity of the person and fundamental freedoms linked to mutual obligations upon which a healthy democracy depends
Death of Utopia