Sara Flounders (editor) - Capitalism on a Ventilator: The Impact of COVID-19 in China & the U.S.

The United States is reeling from a triple crisis: the COVID-19 pandemic that has inflicted over 4.4 million confirmed cases and more than 150,000 deaths since the end of February, the most of any country in the world; beyond this pain, suffering and death, over a million workers a week have filed for unemployment ever since April; in the face of shocking instances of police murders, millions of people all over the country, in big cities and small, remote, rural towns have marched and protested racism and systemic abuse of police power.

Facing multiple catastrophes, the U.S. authorities sought someone to blame. Since COVID-19 was first identified in China, politicians of all stripes in the U.S. have assigned the blame for COVID-19 to China and added a worldwide confrontation to the political and economic scene. No day goes by without the U.S. corporate media promoting totally distorted and negative news attacks on the People's Republic of China.

This anthology of articles by social justice activists details the dangers and inaccuracies of this media campaign and analyzes China's contribution to worldwide efforts to control and mitigate COVID-19. The book is a joint project by China US Solidarity Network and International Action Center.

As an anthology, the collection reflects different perspectives and political outlooks. What is remarkably consistent is that the authors confront anti-China rhetoric and urge a scientific approach to this crisis. These writers hold co-operation and solidarity as the best way forward.

Since this book reports the casualties of a rapidly escalating, global pandemic over months, with chapters organized by date within each section, it's important to note the date each chapter was written.

Republicans and Democrats trade barbs over who is "softer" on China. The U.S. closes consulates, ruptures business contracts and major trade deal, expels students and unilaterally cancels long-established science collaborations and academic and art exchanges, while holding provocative U.S. naval maneuvers in the South China Sea and placing missile systems where they threaten China.

The COVID-19 pandemic puts the contention between the U.S. and China into sharp relief. This struggle is not just between two contending nation states or great powers, as many commentators claim.