Do we really want to become China in how we deal with the coronavirus?

China has put 50+ million people under martial law and lockdown. Every city, district, apartment complexes are checkpointed. Everyone's phones are now openly tracked through mobile payment infrastructure to show their travel history. At the same time, the Chinese government has also cracked down on price gouging and making sure everyone has food and money. In the UK we already have shortages, panic buying, people selling hand sanitizers at 10x prices in ebay and the zero hours / self employed are probably not going to get paid.

I don't think it's a good idea to give our Dear UK Government any ideas on how to expand its scope of powers. We all know how Chancellor Palpatine took control of the Galactic Senate as Darth Sidious in Star Wars don't we? Neoliberalism and surveillance capitalism loves a good shock to reorient society in the future according to profit and control.

So faced with either becoming more like China with the ensuing loss of freedom and privacy that entails or the fact that the coronavirus cannot be contained. I personally hope that everyone is infected as fast as possible, have coronavirus parties in fact, like the days of pox parties to hurry it up. That way, those of us who are going to be completely fine anyway (if you're under 50, you're about as likely to die in car crash) can hurry and up and get on with the rest of our lives with as limited disruption as possible. As for the boomers et al, haven't their generations wrecked our lives enough?

The Chancellor Palpatine argument was very persuasive. Where is Yoda when you need him?

Well, I'm over 60 and not in the least worried. But then my parents are both dead. However, maybe some politicians care about their elderly parents, so that's why they want to stop the spread. Putting my cynical hat back on, whereas there is definitely not time to get a vaccine out to most people, the rich and powerful might be thinking that buying a little time could mean a vaccine just for them.

But, at the end of the day, for the great unwashed, Corona is probably coming to a street near you.