In F/Ailing Capitalism and the Challenge of COVID-19, Noel Chellan argues that citizens needlessly died in capitalist countries throughout the pandemic.

He contends that COVID-19 has exposed the harsh workings of capitalism, contrary to the ideologies upheld by mainstream economists. Some of the questions he asks are: Why were Chinese lives more important than American lives? Why were Vietnamese lives more important than British lives? Why were Cuban lives more important than South African lives? Why was the value of the grandparent that died in the US lower than the value of the grandparent that was saved in China? Why was the value of the healthcare worker that died in the UK lower than the value of the healthcare worker that was saved in China?