Coronavirus vs. the Bubonic Plague: The Movement towards Individualistic Societies

Opinion Analysis by Taleen El Gharib, Staff Writer

January 26th, 2021

Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and on a non-scientific basis, the world is constantly presented with many hurdles that challenge this law. For every event thrown into the endless list of “reasons to hate 2020”, the response is drastically unequal, which is quite the opposite of what people expected. 

The Coronavirus pandemic has laid out a never-ending series of obstacles that continue to “make or break” our community. However, the excessive influx of bad news only worsened people’s mental health, and as a result, they created a front in an attempt to shield themselves from further damage imposed by a horrible 2020.

In times of crises, people respond differently. However, as proposed by different works of speculative fiction (whether in the form of literature or motion picture), the response to crises was practically wishful thinking. Speculative fiction, which is a genre that poses “what/if” questions regarding certain scenarios or conditions, nearly always presented a utopic response to crises that were nowhere near realistic.

In order to explain the above point, this paper will briefly compare the Coronavirus pandemic to the bubonic plague (or the Black Death) that took place in the 14th century and present the parallels that are reoccurring on a social and behavioral level.

Coronavirus vs. the Bubonic Plague: Where do the similarities lie?

Many social and behavioral patterns have been reignited today, 7 centuries later. The two major similarities between the pandemics are the emergence of the “us vs. them” mentality and the abandonment of scruples (which is our moral compass).

Back then, during the 14th century, people sought a scapegoat to avert the blame on marginalized groups for the spread of the virus, such as the Jewish community, in addition to homosexuals and sex workers. Similarly, in May 2020, conspiracy theorists in Germany organized anti-lockdown protests to spew their anti-Semitist agendas. The “us vs. them” mentality is referred to as “othering”, where marginalized groups are forced towards the bottom of the social hierarchy and are blamed for all social ills. The tendency to engage in othering emerged from people’s needs to minimize outside dangers, as well as improving group cohesion.

This also has to do with the abandonment of morals and crumbling of laws, as social order is slowly being dismembered and reevaluated by the masses. It mostly occurs unconsciously; we grow more fearful for our own lives and less concerned with others’—a phenomenon that took place during the bubonic plague reappeared during the Coronavirus pandemic. People became increasingly individualistic, growing detached from their own communities as a whole. This includes the traditions, values, and social norms that come with them.

During the bubonic plague, there was a major disregard for human life, to the point where people would abandon their own families, whether it be their parents or children, if they got infected with the virus (which had a much higher fatality rate than the Coronavirus, as it killed between 30-60% of Europe’s population). And although such impersonal behavior was not observed throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, a very different behavioral pattern is unfolding, and it is gradually becoming more and more dangerous.

When the pandemic first began and lockdown regulations were only at their early stages, a wave of panic-buying hit many largely affected countries. Although it seemed quite innocent and almost amusing—first toilet paper, then food necessities such as bread and rice—the situation grew more out of hand, particularly in Lebanon.

As COVID-19 cases began to skyrocket, ICU beds became completely out of reach. Hospitals are at full capacity, as some were forced to set up medical tents, while others transformed their cafeterias into Coronavirus units in order to accommodate more critical cases. The situation became even more catastrophic as people began buying medication in bulks (such as paracetamol), medications for blood pressure regulation and blood sugar stabilization, and vitamins recommended for treating COVID-19. This led to the scarcity of vital medications and empty shelves in pharmacies all over Lebanon.

The atrocities do not end here. COVID patients in critical condition, who are in dire need of supplemental oxygen, fear running out of oxygen tanks. Why? Because healthy Lebanese citizens are panic buying them as a precautionary measure. 

The harrowing situation in hospitals and the pressure on the medical sector is no secret. People are aware of the many deaths that are taking place because there are no ICU beds, just as they are well aware of the critical cases that heavily rely on supplemental oxygen. Panic buying oxygen tanks to the point of unavailability, knowing that this behavior will surely lead to the death of those in need of them, is a level of selfishness and immorality that drastically exceeds any behavioral changes that occurred during the bubonic plague.

In speculative fiction, people became more communal during crises. Resources were distributed in an equitable manner, starting with children and seniors, followed by the fitter individuals. People learned how to ration and ensure that members of their community, those who are experiencing the crisis alongside them, are receiving the necessary resources for survival. However, this genre is fictional for a reason. The transformation into communal societies in such critical situations is almost utopic and rather wishful—or for lack of better terms: “it only happens in the movies”. The Lebanese population has witnessed a drastic shift towards individualism, and this time, people cannot blame it on Westernization. Although it may be a minor influential factor, this phenomenon of extremely selfish behavioral patterns has not been observed anywhere else in the world during the pandemic.

Lebanon’s communal norms are crumbling

 A Marxist’s nightmare would be the current Lebanese narrative. An exceedingly active consumerist culture is manifesting itself in Lebanon, and basic concepts of capitalism are not solely being adopted on the economical level, but more on a behavioral level. Lebanese morality and social order have completely fallen apart, thus making the communal aspects of Lebanese society futile.

In a Middle Eastern/Arab context, societies are predominantly communal. The majority, if not all, of Lebanese traditions are based on the greater community, not the individual; Lebanese people pride themselves in their willingness to give an arm and a leg to help their neighbor, or even a stranger they come across on the street. The Coronavirus pandemic challenged these traditions, and it is successfully breaking apart Lebanese social values. 

For this reason, one must pose the following questions: What will happen to Lebanese social values after the pandemic is over? Why did Lebanese people so readily sacrifice their social values?

This behavior came as a surprise to Lebanese citizens due to the nature of Middle Eastern/Arab societies. The biggest concern is whether these social norms will remain intact after the Coronavirus is subdued, considering they are the foundation of Lebanese society. Although social order crumbled during the pandemic, it will be rebuilt – but surely not in the same manner. This could be a small fragment of the end of communal Lebanese societies and the emergence of more individualistic mindsets. Was this the first push that initiated the movement towards individualism in Lebanese societies?