Michael Whitty

Professor Karla Felix

Podcast Response #3
20 July 2020
People Over Profit
This podcast spiked my interest because of the recent events following the global
pandemic. I have been wondering to myself--why, for so long, have we as a country always put
people over profit. During this pandemic we have had scares of economic blackouts and huge
downfalls within the stock market. Some eager beavers who want to reopen the economy have
been very adimate about opening stores and restaurants back up to quickly put a rise back into
our economy. This is a perfect example of the phrase profit over people. In this instance, people
are more worried about the stock market and the economy of businesses than they are about the
actual well-being of other human’s lives. COVID-19 has forced us to change the way we think
about economics. We very much will be rethinking the value of values and ethical values. We
need a government that can respect our people, and people who can respect our governments.
We need to rely upon communities, neighborhoods, and groups of people, even though markets
and the government are important, there should be a third dimension of talking, thinking, and
including. Social distancing is a rule put in place by the government, a result which is not
necessarily required but is encouraged to be followed. However, there have been a bigger report
of people not following these rules, as well as not respecting proper use of personal protective
equipment (i.e. masks, gloves, or face shields). Ultimately I do feel like this pandemic has
brought people together. Just in New York city alone I have noticed a different atmosphere when
I am walking down the sidewalk. There is a more defined amount of engagement from the other
person you are passing by. NYC has not necessarily graduated to be able to say hello to people,
but more so acknowledge other humans' lives and existence--which was not the case prior to
COVID-19. I now frequently find myself looking up at the people passing me by on the sidewalk
and find myself nodding my head or saying hello in a way that is not actually saying hello. There
is a bond between the shared trauma of COVID-19 that kind of forces human interaction inside
communities and neighborhoods. Capitalism has conditioned people to believe that it is
something we need and not something we could benefit from. We have been conditioned to be
driven to the 9 to 5, 40 hour work week, and believe that is what we need as humans to survive.
The government quite literally conditioning our brains to work and be okay with working all the
time. It took a global pandemic of COVID-19 to stop being so focused on self-interest and the
benefits of corporations and businesses, the pandemic has forced people to think less about
themselves and the corporation but more on communities and other people. We are seeing people
rest, educate themselves, and be creative--things that would be impossible because most people
would be stuck into their 40 hour work week--lost in the work our government has forced and
conditioned humans to survive in.