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Accountability as mourning: Accounting for death in the time of COVID-19

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  • Yu, Ai

Abstract

In view of the increasing coronavirus death toll around the globe, centralized governments have been put under the spotlight to account for the deaths in the sovereign states they represent. But could it be a problem if we simply hold governments accountable for deaths by demanding accurate and transparent accounting of the total? Is there a better way to account for deaths in a pandemic without ignoring the pathos of loss and undermining our capacity to act spontaneously? I engage with these questions by looking at how the ethics/politics of death, as two sides of the same coin, affect our understanding of accountability in the time of COVID-19. I distinguish between two types of accountability that correspond to the two meanings of “account for”: “to explain the reason or the cause of something” and “to form part of a total” (Cambridge Dictionary11https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/account-for-sth.). The second type of accountability, informed by a Deleuzian ethics of death, is explored through an interpretative case study of accounting for the deaths in Wuhan, where the global pandemic began. It shows that accountability is essentially a freedom-enabled endeavour to account for deaths through our repetition in mourning, which forms part of honouring the dead, the dying and the living. This new configuration implies that a more radical form of accounting is needed in order to appreciate the value of life and be mindful of the socio-psychological costs associated with deaths.

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  • Yu, Ai, 2021. "Accountability as mourning: Accounting for death in the time of COVID-19," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:90:y:2021:i:c:s0361368220300829
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2020.101198
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    1. Le Theule, Marie-Astrid & Lambert, Caroline & Morales, Jérémy, 2023. "Accounting to the end of life. Scarcity, performance and death," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Alshurafa, Mohammed & Aboramadan, Mohammed & Haniffa, Roszaini, 2023. "Digital postcolonialism and NGO accountability during COVID-19: Evidence from the Gaza Strip," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
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    4. Qin Xiong & Yichun Xu & Tongying Yang & Meixin Zhuang & Yunnan Peng & Pingrong Zhou & Liuxian Wu & Sitong Chen & Yuqing Fan, 2022. "Pathos in ECCs during COVID-19: Discourse Analysis Based on Sino-A Companies," Studies in Media and Communication, Redfame publishing, vol. 10(1), pages 135-149, June.
    5. Kingston, Kylie L. & Luke, Belinda & Furneaux, Craig & Alderman, Lyn, 2023. "Examining the re-territorialisation of beneficiary accountability: Digitising nonprofit services in response to COVID-19," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    6. Rodrigue, Michelle & Romi, Andrea M., 2022. "Environmental escalations to social inequities: Some reflections on the tumultuous state of Gaia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Shiraz Rahaman, Abu & Neu, Dean & Everett, Jeff, 2024. "Accounting artifacts and the reformation of a national healthcare system," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    8. Eutsler, Jared & Kathleen Harris, M. & Tyler Williams, L. & Cornejo, Omar E., 2023. "Accounting for partisanship and politicization: Employing Benford's Law to examine misreporting of COVID-19 infection cases and deaths in the United States," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).

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