Tea at Trianon: A Second National Lockdown is Dangerous and Reckless

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, November 15, 2020

A Second National Lockdown is Dangerous and Reckless

From AIER:

The idea that the United States government should institute a national lockdown mandate that overrides the discretion of local officials is rooted in a simplistic view of society. Although in theory, it may be advantageous to have uniform restrictions, the United States is too diverse. Such a policy would be dangerous and cause unnecessary disruption. Why should citizens in Utah, which has some of the lowest deaths per capita, abide by the same restrictions as those in New York, which has one of the highest deaths per capita? Such a suggestion is a recipe for a highly avoidable disaster.

Osterholm takes particular issue with the idea that in some states too many workers were deemed essential. The entire notion that certain businesses are essential or nonessential is not only ignorant of the complex ecosystem that is the economy but could damage the healthcare sector. For example, in Michigan the Mackinac Center reports,

“One of the affected medical practices, Grand Health Partners, operates in the Grand Rapids area. It performs endoscopies and other elective surgeries, many of which were deemed nonessential by executive order. Due to the shutdown, many of their patients were not able to receive treatment and have suffered because of it.”

Furthermore, shutting down businesses and schools will not only send disruptive economic shockwaves but it will also affect healthcare practices needed to combat Covid-19. Jude Bayham and Eli P. Fenichel write in an academic paper on school closures that

“School closures come with many tradeoffs. Setting aside economic costs, school closures implemented to reduce COVID-19 spread create unintended childcare obligations, which are particularly large in healthcare occupations.”

Disruptions caused by another, far stricter lockdown will likely impose unexpected burdens on healthcare workers that will weaken the ability of hospitals to treat patients, not just for Covid-19 but all diseases.

Alongside the massive economic, social, and health-related consequences of a national lockdown order of this magnitude, it might be illegal. In a past article, I highlight that three states (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania) had their lockdowns declared unconstitutional. It would not be surprising if a national lockdown as Osterholm favors would violate all sorts of laws and doctrines. That could include but not be limited to, the 1st Amendment, the 14th Amendment, and the Separation of Powers doctrine. (Read more.)