Pandemic! & Pandemic! 2: COVID-19 Shakes the World & Chronicles of a Time Lost

Pandemic! & Pandemic! 2: COVID-19 Shakes the World & Chronicles of a Time Lost by Slavoj Žižek

This book already feels incredibly dated just a few years after publication. There were things that we cared about during the covid-19 pandemic that do not feel relevant at all today. At the onset, it was supposed to be only a brief lockdown until infection rates fell. Then it was extended and extended. Some people working in "essential" industries kept working - and suffered from significant infection rates. The professional class was able to work from home. The working class lost their livelihood. The pandemic also occurred during a US election year. And we had various riots worldwide. 

Many parts of the response and actions analyzed in this book feel largely irrelevant today. Perhaps the only conclusion that can be drawn in retrospect is that world did a horrible job of responding (or even understanding how to respond.) Our society is so tightly independent that a full lockdown is just not possible. The porous lockdowns likely did more harm than good. What seemed to be obvious benefits during the pandemic now need to be re-evaluated. This book, written during the pandemic is now a historical artifact.