The Original Instructions of Accountability: Pandemic Response as Old Ways and New Means

Abstract

While the conventional economic effects from COVID-19 within the global capitalist economy are and will continue to be devastating, in Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori economies and responses have the potential for imagining and implementing alternative futures. This chapter explores the potential for scaling out these economies and responses based on present practices and future possibilities with a focus on the concept of accountability. The chapter first explores pre-colonial accountability structures by following Ngāi Tahu, Māori and Indigenous thought and practice. This is to outline the original instructions of accountability, which is termed grounded accountability. It then briefly explores historical and contemporary perspectives on mutual aid to acknowledge the parallels between grounded accountability and mutual aid, and then uses this framework to examine contemporary pandemic responses and future possibilities. The chapter finishes with concluding thoughts and guiding questions for future research and practice.