Interesting but I can't help but worry about those 'free people' who may be at risk because of other free people's mistakes. As John Rawls put it In A Theory of Justice where he argued for the most extensive basic liberty for individuals but it must be compatible with similar liberty for others. Is it fair on our health care professionals that they get infected, and possibly die, because they are treating people who ignored the risks of Covid? Is it fair that someone who needs an ICU bed, through no fault of their own, can't get one because risk taking individuals coming into hospital with Covid?
Sumption starts with a very different view of society and the protection that government should offer to me. I think government is there to protect the vulnerable, the poor and the old. I suspect until he finds himself in one of those groups, he'll stick to his libertarian views.
You beat me to it. Despite all the safeguards an allegedly civilised society has in place to protect the vulnerable and disadvantaged we are really in the following situation.
a)Do not go to work in order to protect your health and that of others, risk failing to pay your bills, becoming impoverished, maybe homeless, and increase your risk of dying. b)Go to work, risk your health and that of others, pay your bills, remain solvent, keep your home, risk becoming ill, infecting others and if you are in the at risk group (which nobody has fully identified yet -a small number of young healthy people will still die) you may die. c) Pretend nothing is happening. Live the life of denial. You might live. You might die. You might cause others to die. d) Choose your parents carefully. If you can insulate yourselves from the common masses with your wealth you have a better chance of escaping infection and its risks. That'll be about 2% of the population then.
At some stage economic pressure will be greater than the need for self preservation, at least for some, and that is where the risk of a second wave comes in. A government composed of millionaires being pressured by their millionaire friends to preserve their millionaire interests may overwhelm the need to pay attention to scientific advice.
It's Hobson's Choice isn't it. To paraphrase Tom73, the COVID-19 virus does not discriminate.
You can't anthropomorphise it, it has no feelings, it has no political agenda. It exists to propagate itself. 20% of common colds are caused by Coronaviruses which have mutated so that they can infect the greatest number of hosts without killing them thus ensuring their continuing existence. It is not in a virus's evolutionary interest to kill its host before it can spread. The trend for such viruses is to become less virulent and it may be that in the absence of an effective vaccine this is the best hope, at least in the short term. Of course, this particular virus might be the exception that proves the rule. I hope not.
