Comparative Political Analysis Paper

Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code/Title
Instructor
Date
Comparative Political Analysis
2020 has by far been the most unprecedented year in recent times as countries’ quest for advanced economic growth and development has been halted unexpectedly. The emergence of the coronavirus also known as COVID-19 in the People’s Republic of China has had a detrimental impact on the global population (Shereen et al. 91). The pandemic has spread exponentially exhibiting a Fibonacci sequence and thus, the inability of many countries to mitigate its effect. However, focusing on the economic results would be more of a misplaced ideal considering the number of people who have succumbed to the virus. It is the health scare surrounding the virus that has resulted in hotly contested debates in the United States (U.S.).
Democrats have used the government’s failure to take hold of the virus in its early stages as a beating stick. The discussion was quite apparent in the presidential debate that was conducted between Joe Biden and Donald Trump (USA TODAY Staff). The two individuals are fierce rivals with their political parties exhibiting different ideologies when dealing with national matters. To this end, there has been a prolonged conflict on the most suitable political ideology; liberalism or conservatism have supporters and opposition in equal measure. The U.S. is a great case study because of the major impact the virus has had on the country concerning other nations that have had lower effects and more so, because of the differing political ideologies between the two leading political parties.
The first COVID-19 case in the U.S. was confirmed on January 21, 2020. The man who hailed from Washington and in his 30s had traveled to Wuhan had contracted the virus. On the other hand, the first case of suspected local transmission in the country was confirmed on February 26 2020 as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ascertained that the individual had no travel history, particularly to an outbreak area. On the same day, two COVID-19 deaths were reported at a nursing home close to Evergreen Health Medical Center, Kirkland-Washington, and would be recorded as the first fatalities of the virus. However, an April autopsy declared a fatality on February 6 2020 from Santa Clara, California as the first COVID-19 fatality (Schumaker).
Current information as of 26 October 2020 indicates that the number of COVID-19 cases is at 8,646,085 and unfortunately, about 225,282 have died (Hernandez et al.). Despite an overall fall in the curve, some states are experiencing an upsurge in relative cases. On the other hand, there are concerns that the incoming winter season may facilitate the growth of COVID-19 taking into account that it is a virus and has respiratory consequences. These are factors evident in the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); these are diseases with close links to COVID-19 (Xu et al. 1). Retrospectively, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who is a former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (USDA) has called upon the government to issue a national mask mandate taking into account that is even far much easier to do so in the winter as it is the upcoming season (Vera et al.). In essence, it is a devastating time for American administrators and citizens.
Economically, the virus has had a profound impact on the US, its business, and its citizens. The most apparent result of the uncertainty that prevails in the pandemic market is the heightened level of volatility in the financial markets and lower valuations directed towards businesses. A surprising event is when the country’s “stock market hit the circuit breaker mechanism four times in ten days” having never hit such heights in its history. In its entire lifetime, it has only witnessed the hit just one, which was in 1997 (Zhang et al. 1). Actions from the Federal Reserve Bank highlights the gravity of the situation as they were compelled to slash interest rates to save the economy from much more damage. On the other hand, unemployment hit 14.7%, which is the country’s historic record (Bureau of Labor Statistics). In this phase, about 40 million Americans were rendered jobless as the adverse impact of the virus had on most businesses in the economy (Rushe). Businesses have closed as everyone is keen on practicing social distancing and more importantly, as the flight to safety response.
These changes are extreme thereby demanding or else compelling the articulation of the best political ideology that can come close in providing better solutions. A political ideology refers to “an interrelated set of attitudes and values about proper goals of society and how they should be achieved” (Proch et al. 878). Liberalism and conservatism are the two most prominent factions in the US with the greatest number of Americans identifying with one of them. More importantly, the two established the origins of the popular ‘left’ and ‘right’ with correspondence to the seating arrangement of the French Assembly during the French Revolution. In this regard, the right side was for the aristocrats who accepted the ancient regime while the left side was for the sympathizers of the revolution. Liberals accept change while conservatives reject. Therefore, the socialists or communists who wanted greater equality or social reform at the beginning of the 20th Century could be regarded as leftists. On the other hand, the defenders and reactionaries of the present constitutions and establishments were on the other side.
The primary feature of political conservatism is resistance to change (Feldman and Huddy 312). Conservatives and liberals differ even in their attitudes as they are both “rooted in deep-seated psychological differences between them” (Proch et al. 879). To this end, conservatives elicit an unrivaled level of perpetual sensitivity particularly to circumstances that appear threatening more than the liberals. Consequently, their perception of the world is that it is a dangerous place ther...