An editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine provides a sobering and accurate assessment of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard…
According to the Wall Street Journal, a growing number of economists and epidemiologists are questioning the wisdom of lockdowns to combact COVID-19. [T]he evidence suggests lockdowns were an overly blunt and economically costly tool. They are politically difficult to keep in place for long enough to stamp out the virus. The evidence also points to…
Imagine for a moment what would happen if the government declared, “Since every individual has the potential to commit a felony crime, we are going to incarcerate everyone.” There would be outrage, protests, and defiance. “That is unjust,” the protestors might proclaim. “You are treating innocent citizens the same as actual criminals.” Yet, in principle,…
One of the mantras repeated by government officials, celebrities, and news anchors during the lockdown has been, “We’re all in this together.” The meaning is clear: Each of us must obey government edicts about wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and washing our hands every thirty minutes. Each of us must suffer and sacrifice in order…
On August 3, Onkar Ghate, ARI senior fellow and chief philosophy officer, was interviewed his white paper, “A Pro-Freedom Approach to Infectious Disease: Planning for the Next Pandemic.” Ghate argues that government has a crucial role to play in a pandemic, but that role should be delimited to testing, isolating the infected, and contact tracing….
Vanity Fair reports that Jared Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law and advisor, developed a plan to dramatically and rapidly ramp up testing for the cornavirus. A combination of bureaucratic incompetence, political expediency, and intellectual dishonesty caused that plan to be abandoned. Rather than have states fight each other for scarce diagnostic tests and limited lab capacity,…
Philosopher Ben Bayer provides a succinct and provoking summary of “A Pro-Freedom Approach to Infectious Disease: Preparing for the Next Pandemic.” America is allegedly the land of the free. But since March, millions have lived under statewide mandatory lockdowns. As the lockdowns are being lifted, we should reflect on how to approach any resurgence of…
In late March, Dr. David Katz questioned whether the lockdown was worse than the disease. In a New York Times OpEd, he wrote: A pivot right now from trying to protect all people to focusing on the most vulnerable remains entirely plausible. With each passing day, however, it becomes more difficult. The path we are…
Many critics of opening the economy claim that it means sacrificing the weak. The truth is, not opening the economy means sacrificing the strong–those who can and produce the values that all of us–weak and strong alike–want and need. Regardless of our risk level, we must consume values in order to live. And before values…