“The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make and could just as easily make differently.” David Graeber To coin a phrase from Professor Sir Michael Marmot, why treat COVID-19 and send people back to the conditions that made them more susceptible to it in the first place? Why indeed. In the early stages, celebrities clambering to narrate the emerging devastation described the virus as “the great equaliser.” Madonna opted to provide her epidemiological commentary in the nude from inside a bath filled with rose petals. Clumsy attempts to encourage a mood of unity revealed a lack of understanding of, or interest in, our tragically unequal age and the consequences for individuals, society, and the economy. Perhaps over the last year, through the pain of the pandemic, we have become more familiar with the characteristics of our country. We can hope. The story of a new virus chimes with an old story of health inequalities more broadly. The most diverse and disa