The culture war is a byproduct of the larger issue that legitimately dealing with all the consequences of COVID would require large changes to our infrastructure and social safety nets (e.g. clean air systems, paid sick leave, etc). Just with things like the housing crisis or overdose deaths, it’s much cheaper to individualize it all way.

Essentially, any problems whose solutions have the potential to alter the economic or political order are not allowed to exist. Much cheaper to sow division and obfuscate reality through the myriad well-established propaganda outlets.