Very proud publishers of mike and were teaming up to try to do a series of things during this pandemic crisis as part of our political intellectual mission but also because were on lock down, were trying to find new ways for us to share information so its very exciting for me to be collaborating when my Close Friends and comrades at haymarket and you might have caught haymarkets excellent teaching last week its when they started to pioneer this online form, marvelous event, super informative, even inspiring, 15000 of us participated in that, joined in for that great talk and this is aiming to be a series haymarket first others that put together, haymarket in fact has already organized a followup to taylors talk in the gonna reconvene these three and discuss the further politics of coronavirus in the next talk would be broadcast on thursday april 9, thats not this thursday but next thursday at 5 00 oclock eastern time and same time this time with mike davis, the following thursday the series continues with great dialogue between the scholars and activist group gilmore and naomi, two of the great experts on Prison Industrial Complex on incarceration and the reasons for that and the meanings for that and they will talk together on thursday april 16 at 5 00 p. M. So these links will be available below, you can register for both of these on eventbrite. Tonight talk with mike also be recorded and so folks will be able to tune in later, you can tell folks about it, you can access it on the haymarket books, youtube channel. Let me just say a little bit about versa and haymarket, as they say to the leading independent radical publishing houses in the United States, close comrades, to outfits that are suffering during this incredible crisis like a lot of other organizations across our movements, this is a real big challenge for us if you getting something from this event with mike, the great talk with naomi and others, if youve enjoyed and profited from the knowledge youre getting from the books, this is a good time, something that we would really appreciate if you would buy books, go to haymarket books. Org, go to verso books. Com and buy books from us, that will keep us going. We also have and we also have venmo, if youre able and a position to donate, its super appreciated right now so thats a little bit of an appeal, just a little more housekeeping. Tonights talk is going to be a little different than last weeks great talk with naomi, and that were oneonone with mike that gives engage with him directly and learn from him and put questions to him. As you listen to them talk and you listening to things that you want him to address, respond to the videos if youre on youtube, type the question into the chat and if you watching on twitter, tweet us, i will correlate some of the questions along with mike conrad and will put those to mike. Its a chance to have those oneonone with mike in one little thing we learned last week from the first of these online teachings, if you are having some trouble with the broadcast quality, image quality that your scene, sometimes you can adjust to your image quality, reduce in other words into get a little bit better sound. Try that, this is all new for us so were stumbling a little bit so please have some forbearance for a technical difficulties which are probably going to be inevitable. Let me say a couple words about mike, i imagine folks tuning in know about his writing but some might be new to mikes work, he is one of the great historians and political and cultural analyst that were lucky to have, hes written and edited 20 books across a ride over a of topics, i think its fair to say there are couple of main threads in his work, one is and hell be joining us from san diego, focus on southern california, books like college you fear, city of corpse, he has analyze the history of southern california, los angeles, san diego and i bring this up partly because mike has a new book coming up, it drops in just two weeks right in the middle of this crisis and hes been working on for years and years. Its called sent the night on fire. Its a big history of las radical 1960s, black and Brown Movement that propelled the city during this year which he cowrote with the longtime los angeles historian john weiner. Its a fantastic book, is available for preorder, there are links to that as well check that out, another main thread of mikes career of a thinker and activist is the Global Effect of globalization of our era, capitalist globalization, the contradictions and complexity that evolve because of that including disease. In the relationship of the disease pandemic and so forth with the spread development of global capitalist. There is nobody, seems to me better positioned to analyze our current moment there mike davis. I think what were going to do in the upcoming hour is going to be outlined, mike will lead us through some of the ways he sees the politics of this pandemic and hes going to talk for 30 minutes or so sitting out a series of issues and then im going to try to collate a bunch of the questions that you guys ended and put them to mike for the second half hour, we have a little bit more time than that but i want to be mindful of mikes time and energy and then we can wrap up after 60 minutes. Without further ado mike davis. I have to apologize at the beginning, ever coronavirus, the one that causes the common cold, i may be coughing there may be wonders through this interview. Thanks. Ready to go. Maybe we should just start very basically with you describing just a little bit, this coronavirus, how does it differ from influenza, how do you see this new what is to most folks apprising emerging disea disease, hiding places and a longer history . In the late 20th century, up to 2003 coronavirus is where the main veterinary medicine because they cause devastating epidemics particular amongst young animals. Into the viruses responsible for a lot of economic damage in the pork industry in the also affect cattle there were two coronavirus is including the one that i had which cause mild cold, there was summary church in urgency to understand more than that. And then 2003 suddenly in southern china, and hong kong, new disease emerged, this is against the background with an outbreak and it was attributed it seems to spread with the speed of light from one person that is sometimes called the super spreader in a hotel. In six scientist prewithin 24 hours their journey five other countries and it look like it was about to become like a pandemic. But the two realized it probably was not influenza so it began the search to find out exactly what this was that was causing this disease known as a severe acute respiratory syndrome. It was sars, it was discovered to be a coronavirus, this was truly unexpected per coronavirup a little bit here. Viruses are basically. Sitting genes that have to figure out a way to break into cells and then hijack your genetic protein aching machinery and figure out a way to get out of itself. The two kinds of viruses and the one is based on dna. They have a Proof Reading mechanism, so they have accurate copies of themselves but the viruses and the great majority of viruses are reading in translating instructions from the dna to make proteins but rna viruses have no spell check and this means that there constantly making earrings and also mutating a million times faster above anything else. Scientist said recently in human cell we take 7 million years of evolution to produce changes in the rna virus can occur in four days. So this is a World Revolution is fed up a million times where the viruses are basically xerox is printing out a written copies, this gives a great advantage in facing the human immune system because there will always be some humans slightly change variety of the virus that can resist the antibodies in your immunes system is producing. Coronavirus in particular has the largest genome amongst foreign aid viruses. About twice the size of the genetic package of influenza. To go back to the sars epidemic, its killing 20 of the people that got about 2000 people got it. It is stimulated including the United States to develop a vaccine. But to find out how this thing works because it seemed to be so much different than the common cold. But the thing that really saved us into thousand three is that size was only contagious with people that were symptomatic. So you can really only spread it when you are showing symptoms, coughing, fever, whatever. In different influenza which can be spread a symptomatically, people who have it dont show any symptoms, presymptomatic by people in the incubation. This gives influenza wing supply that coronavirus in the stars form did not. Because of the trade of the virus is easier to suppress, within a year there were no more cases, research on a vaccine, this could have been preventable sars with the chief of humanity and to have the capacity in the universal dissemination of the spanish flu in 1918 and 1919, the greatest single mortality in human history. Then in 2012, there was an outbreak in saudi arabia, the respiratory syndrome and it turns out i dont know if any of you remember if you go into a new good stricken and die because diseases are carried by bats and it was the origin disease spread to camels and then spread to humans. It also turned out to be a coronavirus, similar in many respects to sars, in the beginning it had a higher mortality rate, killed half the people who got it but like sars once again it was contagious only in the stage when you represent symptoms. But it did share a tremendous amount of research on coronavirus is and on the reservoir of coronavirus and coronavirus are not only endemic to bats with the existence and the stunning way of subtypes and strains. One city behind her back showed hundred different bat species the third 400 strains circulating. Now attending 100 species, of that species around the world. The potential danger is greater than anyone knows. Finally the current virus that goes to covid disease, and resembles both sars and the mideast coronavirus, these symptoms are similar in the lot that showed genome, its not as deadly by far but on the other hand its acquired the ability to spread like influenza does. Its incredibly infectious of influenza. Lets say briefly on the scientific level and since you have been studying all these diseases, what is your sense of order scientific response to this. Until a vaccine is developed, are there other options, malaria drugs, antivirals, injections and so forth . Probably 100 Different Research teams working on antivirals, drugs that have been developed, hiv, right now the only thing that is immediately within reach is plasma if somebody gets the disease then gets well then you take the blood and separate that and the plasma has the antibodies and this can be directly transfused into people that have tested positive. I think its been run more than a century but it is confusing with a lot of enthusiasm but that might be the most effective treatment from people that are suffering from the severe case of the infection. Interesting. Lets switch gears to the political response. You wrote a recent piece contracting the success of chinas containment efforts. Talk about your sense of the different responses nationally and globally what is the high and low point politically in the response . China responded to the new virus in the same way as sars in both cases local officials tried to cover up the cases spread misinformation and allowed it to become an epidemic. Then the government steps in and they are mobilization was highly effective. Now when wuhan was quarantined maybe the window of two weeks which allowed beijing to bring in doctors and experts across from china to concentrate on boo hand on wuhan. So the ability to concentrate an army of medical personnel and the protective equipment and test kits originally in wuhan it was 5 percent after the mobilization there were smaller outbreaks in china. Now i read an article that people the authoritarian leaders are learning the wrong lessons some say totalitarian surveillance in order to suppress such a pandemic because i dont think putting 1 Million People into camps or to do surveillance on all jaywalkers in china who will do that in success for the chinese . So first the Grassroots Organization for nine. 5 million members of the communist party so you have a Grassroots Organization medical care in china was powerful with a lot of cutbacks but with a large practice with the Critical Research now everything we know about coronavirus is coming out of Chinese Research in the same way back in 2003 and to share the research of the censorship even when republican senator from louisiana during a time that is out of control. That is crazy. With the chinese literature. This is also the case south korea had enough test kits it could test anybody who suspected they had didnt have to shut down their economy. Taiwan stockpiled the enormous number of n95 masks and ventilators they had this amazing stockpile which has been absolutely lifesaving. But that authoritarian surveillance societies would allow like this but we have to think of our own model Emergency Response one thats based on Grassroots Organization and medical workers and universal coverage and one is based on stockpile and the development of new vaccines and antivirals because actually, right now of immunology revolution and with that development and then entirely different position 1980s through 19 nineties and then with those real possibilities with those universal events the laissezfaire neoliberal public Medicine Public Health on developing the revolution and to save millions and millions of lives. So the new is enormous. And the politics of that. And pharma which is basically our system of anticipating and responding to these pandemics is fundamentally is uninterested. And constitutionally to put itself out of business. And then last a lifetime. And then to say you are excited. And of course not. With those universal vaccines. I think probably a majority of people and it is entirely possible. And that profit motive. But with big pharma with the 18 companies and simply they hide their prices and the drugs but in the profittaking to justify that status and the research that develops. Its not true. And totally advocated research and development for tropical diseases of antivirals and antibiotics. And then in the last few years running wild in the hospital. The 30 or 50000 americans per year. And in the 1930s and will not address that with that essential test with that social justification and with advertising and r d and sexual dysfunction and they are the profit leaders. And then with the research and then to get that new product and the new technology. And then it is suppressing. We could go on a long time talking about this. And then talking about breaking up with the production and prescription medicines and the couple of years and that proposal must be taken. And those movements for a response to this. And then to get more into that. And those Different Countries responses because even though they are encouraging responses from Less Government across the world so they have this program to think and organize that response. And with those two kinds of demands that dramatically forms and then coexist with that Economic System which may be of that socialism and with that position the new deal. And then to make that platform of campaigning 1944. And of that pandemic what you been fighting for for so long. And with that universal healthcare is essential. But the approach that socialist platform of 1910 look at the current crisis. And then we have to socialize the Production Development of medicines. On the basis of universal healthcare. And then to need to look at the relationship and those corporations for that current crisis. And then to secure this forever. And making extraordinary profits and that sanction and then to consolidate and then to say we could use antitrust and then is crusaded for and then to tighten the regulator to pay higher taxes the amazon is the continental infrastructure with the distribution of goods and then to socialize. And with those Public Utilities and in the nearterm that little article coming out in the nation those excess profits world war i, you want world war ii within the government that has matured but fdr and then in six months and his reaction and those in the excess profits so we need to think about this to urge the democrats and the progressives in these two issues and that Public Development but in the meantime with those three democratic president s with those excess profits went to get back to the question of demand strategy at about 640 and we want this to be a backandforth to those tuning and we have gotten a lot of questions. So in some ways it takes us back because some people halfway through some people ask questions about the global rollout of this pandemic and then the kinds of responses. Asking why and how has it reached africa so late . Is that bizarre another asked an interesting question with the impact on mexico. And trumps government not association at first but in a different way what is your analysis . Especially in the global south. And with africa in particular. And then with 22 percent west africa in particular and in this population doesnt have much impacted in africa it is a hotter climate, people are young, in really some ways that is far as weather goes 1918 or 1919. With the idea that in the same way to follow the same pattern and then in the United States. And equally for this reason. So Subsaharan Africa millions of people. 40 percent of africans between water or sanitation so many percent of africans live in the slums and social distancing is a possible. The civil wars let me make the analogy in 1918 and then on the western front but the greatest mortality is 60 percent of the people who died from this spanish flu because they were famished and exports of green with the people and then for the population. But what happens if you have hiv or aids . Or the immune system is suppressed by hunger . And sanitation . For the entirely different situation to have a relatively healthy population to medicine african doctors warned them that it is a time bomb. So with the immune system. And the studies that talk about in the beginning coming from animals or