A Journal of the Plague Year

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

The Librivox narration of this book was very well done. It was easy to understand, even at 4x speed. In the book, Defoe details the experience in England during a year of the bubonic plague. There is debate as to whether this should be considered "history" or "historical fiction". Regardless of what it is, the author excellently portrays the experiences living through the era. Many of the same concerns that we have had during the Covid-19 pandemic are represented in this period. Some people think they are above it and then find themselves suffering. The society is turned inside out as they are trying to manage the plague. The basic economy has trouble functioning since there is no telling what the future will entail.

The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide

The Viral Underclass purports to explore how inequality leads to negative societal outcomes when diseases hit. In actuality, it takes advantage of interest in racism and COVID-19 to talk about AIDS. The arguments both overreach and contradict themselves. On one side, there is sympathy for essential workers, sex workers, trans and people of color because they cannot work from home during an epidemic. On the other hand, anti-maskers that cannot work from home are criticized. They are lumped together with wealthy white anti-vaxers. He bemoans poor states for the high rate of COVID deaths. Is because the poor don't have access to prophylactics? Or is it that they don't want to?

The bulk of the book discusses gay culture and AIDS. The author covered a case where a gay black man was convicted for spreading AIDS to others. He legitimately criticizes the stigma and approach to testing. If somebody never tests, then they cannot be convicted. Testing is beneficial to society, yet a positive test can lead to somebody being subjected to penalties.

Beyond AIDS, the author reaches for strings for just about anything to make his argument. Racism, Speciesism, Ableism. Any group that "others" discriminate against is part of the viral underclass. It is not their fault they get sick, they are just victims of society. The argument is weakened by cherry-picking facts based on a certain worldview.

Capitalism is attacked for producing this underclass. It is also criticized for charging money for vaccines and other prophylactics. (Missed is the fact that capitalism was able to quickly produce COVID-19 vaccines. A few companies succeeded and made a lot of money. Many other companies tried, yet failed to produce working vaccines.)  Anarchy is viewed as the solution that would resolve this. Everybody would just work together nicely without big government and business in the way. In the ideal world, maybe. But with billions of people? Small scale communes have broken down. Could earth survive? 

This could have been a good book about the stigma of AIDS and the need to balance punishment of bad behavior with public health. Instead it tried to cast a wider net and failed miserably.

Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs

Michael Osterholm wrote "Deadliest Enemy" a few years ago to warn against the dangers of infectious disease. There have been a number of cases of disease outbreaks that have sparked immediate action (SARS, MERS, Zika, Ebola). However, once the disease is contained the interest fades. Significant research is performed initially. However, funding goes away after the threat fades, leaving incomplete results. Even diseases like Malaria get brushed off as "third world" diseases, and little effort is spent on containing them.
We have also reached a level of complacency with the seasonal flu. The annual vaccine provides a steady revenue stream. However, getting it every year may provide less immunity than receiving it occasionally. We have also stalled on achieving a "permanent" vaccine. Like other vaccines, the financial component may be getting in the way of some research.
Many of the novel viruses transfer from animals to humans in areas where they live close together. Third world megacities are especially vulnerable. Mosquitos are also primary vector for other diseases.
In one section, he describes a flu pandemic which sounds earlier like the current Covid-19 pandemic. Alas, we have still not prepared for it.