Neoliberalism is a widespread social and political ideology in Ontario. It is mainly characterized by the deregulation of systems through privatization, absence of state intervention, and promotion of an individualistic, ‘everyone for themselves’ mentality (Ayo,2010). These aspects support the current ‘free market’, which allows for concentration of wealth and exploitation of the working class. Thus, capitalism and neoliberalism are quite closely connected. As a result, neoliberal governments place less emphasis on social supports and ensuring equitable quality of life, while championing business instead. The emphasis on profit, competition and ‘innovation’ within the economy reflects the lack of social cohesion perpetuated by neoliberal ideology more generally. In turn, these capitalist tendencies further separate our society via class, socio-economic, status race and gender distinctions, in an attempt to ensure success amongst favoured (wealthy and white) individuals (Ayo, 2010). Although ideology is often considered to be dissociated from reality, neoliberalism and capitalism have extremely tangible, drastic outcomes that are experienced every day. COVID-19 has exacerbated these outcomes, specifically within marginalized communities, and can be analyzed to recognize the social fragmentation within our society.
Before the pandemic, neoliberalism ideology guided public health initiatives to frame health as an individual responsibility (Ayo, 2010). Despite the social determinants of health,which demonstrate how intersections of one’s identity can influence health outcomes, public health has passed the burden of preserving health status onto the individual. This is evident through the commodification of health, resulting in increased access for those who can afford it, and decreased access for those who cannot. This not only places the responsibility of health solely on the individual, but encourages the health status gap, as wealthy consumers can purchase their way towards a healthier lifestyle, while others are left behind (Ayo, 2010;Christiansen, 2017). In essence, commodification and privatization of health further individualizes it, demonstrating the strong neoliberal attributes of our country’s health and wellness sector.
Overall, the further that health status is individualized, the stronger the culture of victim blaming becomes. As a society, we tell those with poorer health outcomes that it is their battle,perpetuating the ‘everyone for themselves’ notion as described earlier. This resembles social Darwinism, in which certain bodies and identities are considered ‘unfit’, and thus, disposable (Bowler, 2016). This blatantly disregards health equity and dismisses government accountability regarding these issues. Essentially, the infiltration of neoliberalism into public health is counter-intuitive to the upstream approach in which this field of work is rooted (Primrose at al., 2020). Despite this, however, public health initiatives tend to be more widely accepted when personal choice is allowed. Thus, we are faced with the paradoxical nature of public health, which, asBrown highlights, is self-defeating in and of itself (2018).
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, public health initiatives have been central in the management of viral spread. Specifically, mask-wearing policies have been critical and heavily emphasized during this time. Typically, under neoliberal ideology, health has been framed as an individual commodity that only some can attain. COVID-19 has exposed this perspective as neither sustainable, nor realistic. Further, it has been made evident how socially fragmented our society truly is, as the lack of social cohesion further perpetuates inequities (Giroux, 2020).
Mask-wearing acts as a fascinating case study when investigating neoliberalism in public health, as it is a practice rooted in social consciousness and cohesion, concepts that are not characteristics of neoliberalism. Anderson (2020) highlights how mask-wearing is more than just a safety precaution. More so, masks are a symbol of social consciousness, solidarity and care for the health of those around us (Anderson, 2020). Compared to the individualistic way that public health has promoted the attainment of favourable health outcomes in the past,mask-wearing may be perceived as a significant expectation. It depends on the cooperation of a society that, systemically, does not place enough value or priority on social cohesion. Through mask-wearing expectations put in place by the government during the pandemic, we have seen a significant shift away from the neoliberally influenced public health strategies.
While mask-wearing policies have been heavily enforced, this practice has not been accepted by all. Throughout Ontario, anti-mask protests, more recently named ‘Freedom Rallies’, have been held to show discontent surrounding the implementation of widespread mask policies. For example, a rally in Aylmer, Ontario on November 7th had approximately 2000attendees that felt mask-wearing expectations were ‘unconstitutional’ (Reiner, 2020). This event exemplifies how well-accepted and predominant individualism is, especially regarding health. It also demonstrates how our current society reinforces the notion that fragmentation is more preferred than cohesion, and that acting as a collective is naïve or unrealistic (Hobson-West, 2003). As demonstrated, masks counteract the pervasive capitalist, neoliberal tendencies that are ingrained into both our psyches and systems.
Throughout the pandemic, we have seen COVID-19 exacerbate and expose the stark health and wealth inequalities that exist within Ontario. Despite the destruction that this virus has caused in the province, many citizens are still choosing not to conform to mask-wearing regulations that are only effective if everyone partakes. This disregard for community health and wellbeing is problematic, as it is, in essence, accepting the predisposition of poor health outcomes for the vulnerable sector. For this, we have neoliberalism and the rise of white nationalist populism to blame. While pervasive, there are still opportunities to resist the negative, segregating ways of neoliberalism in our society. The first step in doing so is implementing more robust social support systems that can be accessed by all citizens (Primroseet al., 2020). Systemic reform in the social services sector, developed on the basis of empathy and support, is necessary to ensure more equitable health outcomes and foster a more community-based, socially conscious society., This can strengthen our approach to potential public health crises like the current COVID-19 pandemic in the future.
References
Anderson, W. (2020). Unmasked: Face-work in a pandemic. Area Online, 2.https://arena.org.au/unmasked-face-work-in-a-pandemic/?fbclid=lwAR0Ex4pEf8R6gExuqyzi86JoBib2xUQ6d9kU9zv_If4m5P6H9SkcZurCpcAyo, N. (2010). Understanding health promotion in a neoliberal climate and the making of health conscious citizens. Critical Public Health, 22(1), 99-105.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2010.520692
Bowler, P. (2016). Social Darwinism. In Sociology. Oxford University Press.https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199756384-0166
Brown, N. (2018). Spherologies of immunisation. Immunity Life: A Biopolitics of Immunity.London: Palgrave McMillan.
Christiansen, I. (2017). COMMODIFICATION OF HEALTHCARE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. WorldReview of Political Economy, 8(1), 82-103.
Giroux, H.A. (2020, April 18). The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Exposing the Plague of Neoliberalism.Socialist Project: The Bullet. https://socialistproject.ca/2020/04/covid19-pandemic-exposing-plague-of-neoliberalism/
Hobson-West, P. (2003). Understanding vaccine resistance: moving beyond risk. Health, Risk &Society, 5(3), 273-283. DOI:10.1080/136985703310001606978
Primrose, D., Chang, R. & Loeppky, R. (2020). Pandemic Unplugged: COVID-19, Public Healthand the Persistence of Neoliberalism. Journal of Australian Political Economy, 85, 17-28
Reiner, V. (2020). Second “Freedom Rally” takes over town. The Star.https://www.thestar.com/news/Canada/2020/11/11/second-freedom-rally-takes-over-town.html