The Thinker (Jun 2020)
The Rise of Machiavellian Realism in the Time of Covid-19
Abstract
The theories of liberalism and realism have for approximately half a millennium provided those wanting to understand human behaviour with a ‘lens’ to view the world. Both of these theories translate superbly into theories of International Relations, because the same rationality used to interpret or predict human behaviour can be applied to states. At the most elemental understanding, liberalism presumes that humans are inherently good-natured and seek to help each other. Realism, on the other hand, contends that individuals are egocentric and always search for their own benefit. This juxtaposition is framed in the ‘Hobbes vs Kant’ paradigm, which places the work of two prominent political philosophers against each other. Within the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic, the virtues of liberalism are taking a metaphorical backseat in the greater scheme of the ‘Hobbes vs Kant’ debate. In fact, states which had previously strongly advocated for the liberal agenda are reverting to classical realism to navigate through our current crises. At both individual and state levels, the selfishness and greed which are tenets of realism have become shockingly clear. The spread of Covid-19 around the world brought fear, irrationality and the global phenomenon of ‘panic-buying’, with the ethos of ‘every man for himself’ demonstrated in the hoarding of hundreds of rolls of toilet paper.
