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Covid-19 as a 'breaching experiment': exposing the fractured society.

In this brief paper, I argue that the coronavirus pandemic is functioning like an ethnomethodological 'breaching experiment'. In short, it is putting a gigantic spanner in the works of neoliberal governance, in the process exposing the widening cracks and fissures of what I have called the 'fracture...

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Published in:Health Sociology Review Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 140 - 149
Main Author: Scambler, Graham
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jul2020
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2020
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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        10.1080/14461242.2020.1784019
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        atl: Covid-19 as a 'breaching experiment': exposing the fractured society.
      aug:
        au: Scambler, Graham
        affil: Sociology, University College London, London, UK
      sug:
        subj:
          COVID-19 Psychosocial Factors
          National Health Programs
          Politics
          Health Policy Trends
          Disaster Planning
          United Kingdom
          Disease Outbreaks
          Sociology
          Commitment
          Social Justice
          Health and Welfare Planning
      ab: In this brief paper, I argue that the coronavirus pandemic is functioning like an ethnomethodological 'breaching experiment'. In short, it is putting a gigantic spanner in the works of neoliberal governance, in the process exposing the widening cracks and fissures of what I have called the 'fractured society'. I begin by recalling Garfinkel's notion of the breaching experiment and by listing the principal attributes of the fractured society. I then explore the response to the coronavirus in the UK, from the government's initial commitment to 'herd immunity' to its present policy of 'muddling through'. The bulk of the remainder of this contribution addresses precisely how this global health crisis shines a harsh and unforgiving searchlight on the strategies and policies pursued by governments in the UK since 2010, and most especially after the passing of the Health and Social Care Act of 2012. In the closing paragraphs, I examine possible scenarios for a post-fractured society, making particular use of Fraser's concepts on 'reactionary' versus 'progressive populism', and conclude with a comment on sociology and engagement.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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