Rethinking the status quo

Under the status quo and the dominance of neoliberal thinking, some propositions are accepted as undisputed facts of life and the outcomes as inevitable. Globalisation is necessary and beneficial. Deindustrialisation has been a natural outcome of progression. Financialisation is another outcome of natural progression. Inequality is acceptable. Poverty is inevitable. Minimum wages are bad for the economy and so are maximum wages. These propositions are acceptable because they are determined by market outcomes, and the market cannot be wrong. Covid-19 has implications for all of these "undisputed facts of life". In this chapter it is argued that globalisation must be handled with care and that it must not follow a unified model, that deindustrialisation to the core may not be a good idea, that financialisation has led to the creation of a paper economy without much of wealth creation, that poverty is not inevitable and a social safety net is warranted, and that minimum wages can go a long way towards sheltering people from poverty.