Revenge of the Real: Post-Pandemic Politics

How has the city and the regimes of control changed as a result of the lock down? Bratton argues that the crisis makes apparent the symptoms that were already affecting the city. But we have to rethink how we might challenge them. This involves the question of surveillance, the future of quarantine, the development of a political consensus. This will have an impact on our everyday lives at the most profound level. Will the wearing of masks every time we go out change the way we interact? Will we have to accept state surveillance as the new normal? Will automation take over the tasks we can no longer perform due to fears of contagion? Will the experience of quarantine became a regular part of our planning? How do we deal with experts in the age of populism?

Bratton argues that the global contagion and the varied responses by different societies have exposed ideologies and traditions as ineffective, fraudulent, and suicidal. We must face this challenge or prepare for a condition of permanent emergency.