PANDEMICS IN THE HISTORY: THE BLACK DEATH AND THE SPANISH FLU, COVID-19 AND CAPITALIST CRISIS

Abstract

Nowadays, when humanity is facing a health, economic, political and social crisis, it is essential to go back to historical facts and contrast them with the real situation, in order to have a better interpretation and understanding of this reality. Therefore, this paper pretends to analyze the consequences that the Black Death and the Spanish Flu had on humanity, along with the effects that Covid-19 is currently causing in some countries, in the context of a crisis of capitalism. In this way, it is a contribution to the numerous debates that have been taking place on this matter in different fields, both inside and outside the academy. Its methodology is based on the compilation of research contributions that have been carried out on these topics in order to develop a qualitative and comparative analysis about the effects caused to humanity. The pandemics studied had a number of social, economic and political consequences during the historical development that allowed to bring certain changes in society. Covid-19, on the other hand, has revealed the weaknesses of the capitalist system in its neoliberal form: several countries that have applied this model to addressing the pandemic, have not been able to deal effectively with the health emergency.