mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-02-21 09:05 PM - Post#318465
In response to penn nation
Yeah, I’m sympathetic to the “paternalism†argument for a variety of reasons (reading behavioral ec, finding some tenets of libertarianism interesting, having interactions with folks of a political persuasion, etc.).
As PN says, though, in matters where one’s decisions directly impact those around them and society at large, I’m not as sure that paternalism applies - at least as a pejorative to be avoided.
People have obviously taken a variety of approaches to this virus. Some have ignored it entirely, others have begrudgingly taken precautions they’ve been forced to do, while others have happily taken precautions but kept mobility up, and others have stayed away from most indoor locations except when forced to, etc. Regardless of what each person’s opinion is of those approaches, I’d hope we can all agree, as a matter of fact, that the more risk a person takes, the more likely it is that they will create a new vector that ultimately in that vector chain could lead to someone’s death.
I think it is that simple fact that is driving different decision makers to make different decisions much more than it is spite about athletics or laziness. And I think we should respect those decisions rather than defaulting to conspiracy theories.
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