Without a Strong Public, There Can Be No Private

Time to share a few more brief thoughts from middle America on our current state of affairs during the Covid-19 pandemic for the historical record.

Most everyone's been on some sort of lockdown for a while now with various shelter in place and stay at home orders. Our Kansas governor was one of the first to impose measures. Some areas have had stricter controls in place, others looser or even none. And now many of the orders are starting to lift. Phased reopening begins for the state today. My area, as part of the KC metro, begins in a week.

Like all good Inspirobot nonsensical wisdom, I have no idea what this means but it seems to hint at something true.

If you are encouraged by uncontrollable acts of control,
you do not know the true character of uncontrollable acts of control

From the start, reactions to the restrictions have been particularly bipolar. Many--including me, my family, most people I know, and my place of employment--have embraced them. Others never wanted them and have resisted them to various extents. We've been glad to stay home. Our neighbors have never stopped having large groups of people over for fitness classes in their garage and parties in their backyard. When we go shopping, we wear masks, use disinfectant, and avoid being anywhere near people as much as possible. About half the people we see act the same. The other half don't seem to care a wit and regularly invade our space if we don't stop them. Parks, too. We avoid, others invade. I've seen pictures of crowded outdoor spaces that astound me for the obvious lack of any distancing at all. There seems little middle ground; on one side are those clearly concerned if not afraid and doing their best to remain isolated, and on the other are those who would obviously prefer that everything return to normal as quickly as possible, haven't changed their behavior, and resent the disruption.

Lately armed and angry groups have been protesting the closings at government buildings. Some municipalities and stores have had to call off requirements for masks because workers were getting attacked. The rest of us feel the reopening is happening too quickly, that the contagion is still spreading and we aren't equipped to contain a second wave. We feel this is what's best for the greater good, ourselves included. They feel individual freedom is the greatest good and should not be impeded in any way. The divide is extreme.

My thoughts, as briefly shared on a Facebook post:

Our high travel, densely populated areas have been hit hard, but for much of the country it hasn't been bad at all. The restrictions have worked. I worry, though, that when we come out of isolation we'll bring the virus with us, that we haven't prevented its spread, just delayed it. It's still circulating and increasing where it can, after all.

I hope I'm wrong. Time will tell.

Honestly, I'm not even sure why we're reopening right now, aside from expectations (set by early, hopeful forecasts), impatience, and increasingly angry shows of protest. While the rate of growth has slowed, overall numbers of infection and death continue to increase. I borrowed this from someone else yesterday:

I do trust our local and regional health departments, so, again, I'll trust and hope the timing is right. I'm just glad reopening will be phased and I won't be returning to on-site work or regular patterns anytime soon. After all, aside from health and safety, the current situation suits me.

Another brief post I shared on Facebook recently read simply, Profit off the misfortune of others. I meant it ironically, of course. It was in reaction to my disgust at many news items reporting exactly that happening. Corporations, companies, businesses, and individuals taking advantage of circumstances for their own gain regardless of the suffering they caused to others. I shared it on the assumption that, stated clearly and boldly, everyone would see my exhortation as immoral and wrong and, hopefully, apply the same feelings to the applied examples all around. I did it even as I knew reactions would be just as divided as the social distancing ones, that many would agree with me wholeheartedly just as others would see nothing wrong with those embracing undisguised self-interest. (Just as I knew they would do so only with more explanation than I provided, that my vague statement wouldn't mean much of anything to anyone without more context and information.)

Private gain must no longer be allowed to elbow out the public good

The logic of private interest – the notion that we should just ‘let the market handle it’ – has serious limitations. Particularly in the United States, the lack of an effective health and social policy in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has brought the contradictions into high relief.

Around the world, the free market rewards competing, positioning and elbowing, so these have become the most desirable qualifications people can have. Empathy, solidarity or concern for the public good are relegated to the family, houses of worship or activism. Meanwhile, the market and private gain don’t account for social stability, health or happiness. As a result, from Cape Town to Washington, the market system has depleted and ravaged the public sphere – public health, public education, public access to a healthy environment – in favour of private gain. . . .

Simply put, a market system driven by private interests never has protected and never will protect public health, essential kinds of freedom and communal wellbeing. . . .

Above all, the logic of self-interest is superficial in that it fails to recognise the obvious: every private accomplishment is possible only on the basis of a thriving commons – a stable society and a healthy environment. . . .

By focusing on private market exchanges at the expense of the social good, policymakers and economists have taken an idea that is good under clearly defined and very limited circumstances and expanded it into a poisonous and blind ideology. Now is the time to assert the obvious: without a strong public, there can be no private. My health depends on public health. My freedom depends on social freedom. The economy is embedded in a healthy society with functional public services, not the other way around.

All I can do work toward the public good as I see it, encourage others to do the same, and hope that is enough. Time will tell.