Not for a moment did this libertarian believe that the lockdowns imposed by the government or its mask mandates would have any effect against the spread COVID 19. And what do you know? I was right.
Tom Woods has hammered on this point for quite some time now, presenting convincing data from none other than Johns-Hopkins and CDC. The most damming of all the charts he’s presented are the ones comparing Calilfornia and Florida, two states with similar climates (at least where most of the population resides) but with opposite approaches to slow the virus’s spread. California imposed super strict lockdowns and mask mandates while Florida stayed mostly laissez-faire. The result? No effective difference. In other words, the virus gonna virus.
So, what did the lockdowns do? They inflicted a cure worse than the disease. They normalized a new government breach of individual rights and created an entirely new class of government dependents. They did have one positive. The relief for the unemployed finally discredited once and for all the concept of universal basic income. Turns out, if you pay people to not work, surprise-surprise, they won’t work.
Much to its credit, the national party finally came out and finally said something about the lockdowns. It cheekily suggested in a tweet that the lockdowns served as a dress-rehearsal for the dystopia to come. These new oppressions clicked the ratchet of authoritarianism one or two more notches, extending the power of government just a little further into our lives — and for no good reason.
The tweet further exposed a rift in the party between those of us who believe in the non-aggression principle and those who disavow it. Our “hippies of the right”, as Ayn Rand dubbed them, accuse the national LP of spreading conspiracy theories. I call it a public service announcement and a correct projection of the course of history.
After all, “my work here is done,” is a claim no government official has ever uttered.