Covid-19 and the deep misinterpretation of individual liberty
Joseph E Stiglitz
The upsurge of Covid-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths in the United States serves as a bitter reminder that the pandemic is not over. The global economy will not return to normal until the disease is under control everywhere.
But the US case is a true tragedy, because what’s currently happening here is so unnecessary. While those in emerging markets and developing countries are longing to get the vaccine, the US supply is ample enough to provide a double dose – and now a booster shot – to everyone in the country.
And yet not nearly enough people in the US have been vaccinated to prevent the highly contagious Delta variant from driving case numbers in many areas to new highs. How do so many in a country with seemingly well-educated people act so irrationally, against their own interest, against science and against the lessons of history?
Part of the answer is that the country, for all of its wealth, is not as well educated as one might expect. In many parts of the country, science education is particularly poor, owing to politicisation of issues such as evolution and climate change, which in many cases have been excluded from school curricula.
In this environment, misinformation can gain traction with many people. And social media platforms have made a business model of maximising “user engagement” by spreading misinformation, including about Covid-19 and the vaccines.
But a key part of the answer is a deep misinterpretation, especially among the right, of individual liberty. Those who refuse to wear masks or physically distance often argue that requirements to do so infringe on their freedom. But one person’s freedom is another person’s “unfreedom”. If their refusal to wear a mask or get vaccinated results in others getting Covid-19, their behaviour is denying others the more fundamental right to life itself.
The essence of the matter is that, in a pandemic, one person’s actions affect the wellbeing of others. And the wellbeing of society requires collective action: regulations to restrict socially harmful behaviour and to promote socially beneficial behaviour.
Any ordered society entails restrictions. But while prohibitions against killing, stealing and so on restrict an individual’s freedom, we all understand that society could not function without them.
Any infringement of an individual’s liberty by requiring safe and highly effective Covid-19 vaccination pales in comparison to the social benefits – and consequent economic benefits – of public health. It is a no-brainer to require all individuals, with only limited medical exemptions, to be vaccinated.
As long as the disease rages in some parts of the world, the risk of a more contagious, more vaccine-resistant mutation grows.
In most of the world, however, the problem is not resistance to vaccination but a severe shortage of vaccines. Evidently, the private sector is unable to scale up production to ensure an adequate supply. Is that because vaccine producers lack capital? Is there a shortage of glass vials or syringes? Or is it because they hope that fewer doses will lead to higher prices and even bigger profits? Among the key barriers to greater supply is access to the requisite intellectual property (IP), which is why the IP waiver being discussed at the World Trade Organization is so important.
Given the urgency and scale of the challenge, more is needed: among the steps US President Joe Biden’s administration could take is to invoke the Defense Production Act and leverage the federal government’s ownership of key patents. The US has been allowing the pharmaceutical companies to use this public IP freely, while they reap billions of dollars in profits. The US must use every instrument at its disposal to increase production at home and abroad.
This, too, is a no-brainer. Even if the costs of global vaccination totalled tens of billions of dollars, the amount would pale in comparison to the costs of persistent Covid-19 outbreaks to lives, livelihoods and the world economy.
But one person’s freedom is another person’s ‘unfreedom’. If their refusal to wear a mask or get vaccinated results in others getting Covid-19, their behaviour
is denying others the more fundamental right to life itself
Joseph E Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, is university professor at Columbia University and a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2021. www.project-syndicate.org