新型コロナによる社会変化、世界は良い方向に向かうのか

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】黒死病（ペスト）の流行がきっかけとなった農奴解放や、第2次世界大戦後の荒廃から誕生した英国における「福祉国家」など、主な社会的進歩は大惨事から発生することが多い。（写真は英ロンドンの王立ロンドン病院前を歩く看護師）
　新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ-１９）の拡大に伴い多くの政府が、以前は「ユートピア的」だとし取り入れていなかった、労働者に対する賃金支援やホームレスへの宿泊施設の提供といった政策を実施している。
　だが、緊急事態に伴う措置が緩和され、世界が正常化を試み始める中、こうした政策が実施されている場合、どれが継続可能か、もしくはどれを継続すべきなのかという議論が起きている。
　英国では他の国々と同様、今回の危機により配達員や教師、看護師といった市民生活に不可欠な職業に従事する人々の賃金が、不当に低い現状が浮き彫りになった。
　英政府は、法律上傷病手当が保障されていない自営業者が体調不良にもかかわらず働き続ける事態を恐れ、自営業者５００万人分の収入支援にも乗り出した。具体的には、１か月の所得の８０％分を、２５００ポンド（約３３万円）を上限に支給する。
　英オックスフォード大学の歴史専門家ティモシー・ガートン・アッシュ氏は、最低所得保障制度（ユニバーサル・ベーシックインカム、ＵＢＩ）は、少し前までは「ユートピア的とは言わないまでも、急進的だ」と考えられていたと指摘する。だが、同大学の最近の研究では、欧州の人の７１％が、ＵＢＩの概念を支持していることが明らかになっている。
　英国では、新型コロナウイルス感染リスクを考慮し、ホームレスを宿泊客のいないホテルやホステルに収容している。英政府によると、地元当局が把握する路上生活者の９０％に当たる約５４００人が宿泊している。
　慈善団体「クライシス」は、ホームレスの数は１７万人に上り、感染拡大を理由に賃貸物件から立ち退きを迫られている人はさらに多いとしている。
　同団体のジャスミン・バスラン氏は、政府の対応は「信じられないほど素晴らしい」「政治的意思があれば、何が可能かということが示された」と話した。
　英ウォリック大学のマーク・ハリソン教授（経済史）は、今回の危機は長期的には人々の認識を良い方向に変える可能性があると指摘する。
　だが、英ロンドンにあるインペリアル・カレッジ・ビジネススクールのサンカルプ・チャトルベディ教授（組織行動論、リーダーシップ論）は、善意には限度があると話す。
　「この寛容さは、将来の増税につながる」と述べ、短期的な支援は不安と失望をもたらすと予測している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/05/13-11:31）

Major social advances have often emerged from the depths of disaster: the Black Death brought an end to serfdom, and Britain's welfare state emerged from the ruins of World War II.
As the coronavirus outbreak took hold, many governments brought in policies previously dismissed as utopian, such as backing wages or housing the homeless.
But as emergency measures are eased, and the world tries to get back a semblance of normality, there is debate about which, if any, could -- or should -- be kept.
In Britain, as elsewhere, the crisis has shone a light on the plight of underpaid delivery drivers, teachers, nurses and other key workers who have been vital to the response.
The government has stepped in to guarantee salaries of the five million self-employed because of fears that without statutory sick pay they would continue to work while ill.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak has already begun talking about scaling back the measures, which back 80 percent of someone's average monthly salary up to ��2,500 ($3,100, 2,850 euros).
But David Napier, professor of medical anthropology at University College London, said withdrawal could prove problematic given the imbalances the virus has highlighted.
The strong have been depending on the weak for their survival, he told AFP.
- 'Magic money' -
In the United States, 30 million people have already lost their jobs because of the pandemic's economic impact.
To keep the economy afloat, President Donald Trump's Republican administration has included direct cash payments of up to $3,000 per family in its stimulus package.
Oxford University historian Timothy Garton Ash noted that a concept like basic universal income was considered radical, if not utopian not so long ago.
But a recent study from his university indicated that 71 percent of Europeans now supported the idea.
Doctors and nurses on the frontline of tackling the global pandemic have campaigned for years to get pay rises and more resources.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron initially said there was no magic money for the sector but later promised more investment.
In Britain, the state-run National Health Service has been hit by a decade of cuts in funding and staffing following the 2008 financial crisis.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose Conservative party has been accused of wanting to privatise the free service, has become one of its staunchest defenders.
He was treated at an NHS hospital for COVID-19 and credits its doctors with saving his life.
But Mark Harrison, a professor of economic history at Warwick University, said even that has policy implications.
The simple story of the PM who got saved by the NHS is very powerful, it will be hard for the Conservatives to try to go back on that type of commitment.
Elsewhere, the British government moved to house homeless people in empty hotels and hostels, because of the risk of them contracting the virus.
Ministers have said some 5,400 people or 90 percent of those who usually sleep on the streets and are known to local authorities have been housed.
The charity Crisis puts the total number of homeless at 170,000, and said many more were on the verge of being evicted from rented accommodation because of the outbreak.
But Jasmine Basran, from Crisis, called the government's response incredible.
It shows what is possible if there's political will, she said.
- Goodwill limit -
As the full impact of the crisis becomes known, there are calls for the government to guide industrial policy, similar to the Marshall Plan for reconstruction after World War II.
The director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has urged world leaders to prioritise green energy as they try to kick-start their economies.
Germany has made state aid conditional on firms pledging climate targets and France has said a seven-billion-euro bailout of Air France is dependent on a cut in short-haul flights and emissions.
But business leaders are resisting attempts to introduce initiatives to cut waste and the use of plastic.
For Warwick professor Harrison, the crisis has the potential to change people's perceptions for the better over the long term.
But Sankalp Chaturvedi, a professor of organisational behaviour and leadership at Imperial College Business School in London, said goodwill would only go so far.
This generosity will come with higher taxes, he said, predicting that short-term help would lead to anxiety and frustration.