Coronavirus Is A Defining Test And American Government Is Failing It

The pervasiveness of this leadership vacuum suggests we are witnessing not only a failure of will, but a breakdown in our political system. In a fascinating interview with Rolling Stone this week, Patrick Wyman ― a historian of late Roman and medieval crises ― argues that the great calamities of the past did not wreak havoc on their own. Instead, they exposed existing social fragilities, shattering what had slowly weakened in the lead-up to the disaster.

Donald Trump and this virus are only the proximate causes of our coming misery. A society that has devoted itself to escalating inequality is becoming ungovernable. The Senate bill represents the model of government that former Vice President Joe Biden wooed many Democratic voters with during the 2020 primary. It’s bipartisan, filled with compromise. Everyone seems to have had an ”epiphany” about working together and getting things done. 

But what it has done is grotesque. Our government is so committed to serving the wealthy few that it cannot respond effectively even to a once-in-a-century crisis for the unmonied millions.