So as responses to the virus evolve, how might our economic futures develop? This dynamic has played a large part in driving global responses to COVID-19. The responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are simply the amplification of the dynamic that drives other social and ecological crises: the prioritisation of one type of value over others. In the face of COVID-19, this has never been more obvious. I have argued that we need a very different kind of economics if we are to build socially just and ecologically sound futures. I look at the way that economic dynamics contribute to challenges like climate change and low levels of mental and physical health among workers. My research focuses on the fundamentals of the modern economy: global supply chains, wages, and productivity. I think we can understand our situation – and what might lie in our future – by looking at the political economy of other crises. Hopefully we will use this crisis to rebuild, produce something better and more humane. There are a number of possible futures, all dependent on how governments and society respond to coronavirus and its economic aftermath. Coronavirus is hitting the economy badly. The contract that pays 80% of my salary runs out in December. I am writing this from the UK, where I still have self-employed friends who are staring down the barrel of months without pay, friends who have already lost jobs. I wonder what will happen to my job, even though I’m luckier than many: I get good sick pay and can work remotely. Where will we be in six months, a year, ten years from now? I lie awake at night wondering what the future holds for my loved ones.
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