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Dedication
For those whose lives were lost to COVID-19
The COVID-19 Catastrophe
What’s Gone Wrong and How to Stop it Happening Again
Second Edition
Richard Horton
polity
Copyright © Richard Horton 2020, 2021
The right of Richard Horton to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First edition published in 2020 by Polity Press
Second edition published in 2021 by Polity Press
Polity Press
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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK
Polity Press
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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-4911-5
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com
Fear can be considered the basis for all human civilization.
Lars Svendsen, The Philosophy of Fear (2008)
Preface to the Second Edition
Hindsight or history? Presidents and prime ministers worldwide have argued consistently that no one could possibly have foreseen the brutal human consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Unprecedented’ was, and remains, one of the most commonly used words describing this extraordinary outbreak of contagion. Those who criticise the slow early responses of many Western governments, or the complacency over preparations for a second or third wave of coronavirus, or the lack of adequate support for those hit by the ensuing economic crisis, are not surprisingly censured for their apparently self-righteous, retrospective wisdom. President Trump led the way with what one might call ‘the exceptionalist defence’. In March 2020, he said, ‘there’s never been anything like this in history. There’s
