A Marxist perspective on the pandemic and the "response" to it

I don't agree with all of this, but I do agree with the basic point:

[T]he Times asserted that it will become necessary to accept that there is a “trade-off between saving lives and saving the economy.” While in the short term the two goals may be aligned, in “the longer run, though, it’s important to acknowledge that a trade-off will emerge—and become more urgent in the coming months, as the economy slides deeper into recession.”

In its analysis of the “trade off,” the Times proceeds from the unquestioned premise that economic interests can only be those of the capitalist class. The profit system, private ownership of the productive forces and vast personal wealth are unalterable and eternal. Therefore, the “trade off” requires, inevitably, the sacrifice of human life, specifically, the lives of working people.

If productive power were rationally organized to meet human needs, we wouldn't be facing this particular trade-off (there might be others).  (As an aside, I was amused to see Simon Critchley described in the article, rather generously, as an "academic blowhard"!)