In the race to develop a cure and treat COVID-19, many consider the state and its subsidiaries as the only institutions capable of adapting our current system to suit the epidemic. On the other hand, phrases such as “the private sector has no interest in humanitarian goals! It only seeks profit!” are uttered as justification for more state action.
To illustrate that the private sector can work for the common good, here are some initiatives that “greedy” capitalists have created to help with the fight against the novel coronavirus (and if they profit along the way, who can blame them?).
Turning Whiskey Into Hand Sanitizer
An item which has been highly demanded is hand sanitizer, and due to panic purchasing its price has risen a great deal or it has disappeared from shelves altogether in places where laws prevent vendors from raising prices.
However, in those places where prices have increased, this has pushed makers to increase production and supply the market with more of the product. Moreover, it has encouraged others to shift their production toward alcohol and hand sanitizer.
This is the case with distilleries. Instead of crafting bourbon and vodka, many are changing their schedules to produce hand sanitizer. They are giving it away for free to the local communities or selling it at a lower price, which helps them hold the fort during these difficult times. Even Bacardi, a famous rum producer, is allocating alcohol to the production of more than 1.7 million ten-ounce units of hand sanitizer.
Companies that make perfume are also entering the business. LVMH (LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE) announced that it is going to convert its cosmetic factories to hand sanitizer production and distribute the product to thirty-nine hospitals in France.
Free Services
Special efforts are being made to guarantee that businesses and schools can continue their activities—at least in part. Google has made available features of Google Hangouts that were previously paid, such as video meetings of up to 250 participants and the ability to record calls and save them to Google Drive.
Likewise Coursera has made its program Coursera for Campus available at no cost for universities whose activities were affected by COVID-19. It can be used to enroll students in more than 3,800 online courses from prestigious colleges and universities.
But not every worker can work from home. This is the case for those who work in a variety of services and specific types of shops. “Social distancing” places an enormous economic burden on such enterprises.
To help with this problem, Facebook has started a fund of $100 million to aid small businesses affected by the epidemic. Up to thirty thousand businesses in over thirty countries are eligible to receive help with rent costs, operational costs, and maintaining their workforces. Surely this will be a relief for many entrepreneurs.
The Private Sector Works for Both Private Gain and the Common Good
So far, we have only noted some cases of capitalists around the globe helping their communities and other nations with resources to fight the epidemic. However, we have set aside all the theoretical discussion involving the question of whether we should have a totally private healthcare system or a socialized one.
A case can be made—implicit in some parts of this article—that the state disturbs the workings of the healthcare industry. Government regulations have limited the supply of critical goods such as hand sanitizer, masks, and even food. Government-funded services do not scramble to supply goods and services the way that market firms do. After all, speed and service are the lifeblood of a private firm. This is why even if we abandoned the healthcare sector to the pursuit of profit the whole population would benefit. For any profit to be made, businessmen have to provide a valuable service to their customers. This even drives firms to lower prices while embracing innovation and research with an enthusiasm that government agencies lack.
Unfortunately, the role of private markets is becoming harder to see as government expands into more and more sectors. Everywhere, for example, states dominate the healthcare sector. Even in the US, considered by many the embodiment of capitalism, healthcare has ceased to be primarily a market endeavor. Yet even as government attempts to further crowd out the private sector, the social benefits of markets remain.
