Influence of Capitalism on Covid-19 Vaccines Distribution

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Influence of Capitalism on Covid-19 Vaccines Distribution
The Covid-19 pandemic is among the most pressing global crises at the moment. The development of vaccines is poised as the ultimate solution to the problem of social and economic life returning to normalcy. Since most countries worldwide have adopted capitalism as the ideal economic model (Delanty 19), the economic setup significantly influences the production and distribution of wealth. As it stands, only developed nations, primarily capitalistic, can develop and distribute vaccines. Therefore, operating within the tenets of a capitalistic global economy, the distribution of vaccines has raised a divided public opinion. The countries or organizations that have produced vaccines are inclined to hoard and enforce patents. Based on these factors, the current paper examines how capitalism is undoing rather than assisting in the fight against the pandemic.
The Role of Capitalism
Ideally, capitalism is an economic system in which the government has minimal interference with the market. There is private ownership of means of production, which spurs competition that leads to high-quality products and services. Apart from private ownership of property, free market, and competition, other core characteristics of capitalism include patents (Granstrand 56). Indeed, drastic growth under a capitalistic political economy has partially contributed to the ability of developed nations to develop and produce vaccines within a short time, as observed throughout the pandemic. Furthermore, capitalism encourages the generation of profits even if it is at the expense of other people. Therefore, any profit-oriented organization in a capitalistic political economy is fine-tuned to generate profits both on ideological and functional grounds.
Through capitalism, the world has seen the emergence of global organizations focusing on health and medicine. Such organizations are popularly known as Big Pharma, and some, like Johnson & Johnson, have been at the forefront in developing vaccines and other health and medicine products. While these organizations have contributed extensively to research in health and drugs issues, they are also guilty of blackmailing the public regarding life-saving products or medicine. Under capitalism, they are allowed to do so as long as they do not infringe on the rights of people. This argument forms the basis of the influence of capitalism on the production and distribution of vaccines.
The issue of patents is critical in the current global crisis. Patents are critical regulative features in any economy because they stop organizations from competing unfairly by mimicking or copying other organizations’ ideas, innovations, products, or services. Therefore, capitalism allows the protection of patents at its core even if the products or services are required to save a life. This has been the case during the pandemic where developed nations have hoarded vaccines (sometimes up to five doses per individual) while people in developing nations remain largely unvaccinated (Erfani et al. 4). Organizations involved in the production of vaccines have resorted to patents to protect their i...