From the Black Death to Covid-19: the Rise and Fall of Capitalism

Abstract

Capitalism was nearing the end of its life-cycle through its own dynamics when it was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which not only threw the system into a devastating crisis but also began to generate the seeds of a possible post-capitalist order. This is reminiscent of the spread of Black Death across Europe in the fourteenth century, leading to the dissolution of feudalism and the eventual rise of capitalism. In an analytical comparison between these two periods that takes into account similarities and differences, the article attempts to identify certain trends by linking current events to long-term class dynamics.