Where is the clear evidence?

First published in the www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk & www.dissexpress.co.uk Thursday, August 6, 2020.

Some people have a pretty inflexible, even a warped, view of us Libertarians.

Take the issue of masks in the age of COVID-19. The polemic among those on the socialist left is that we are basically contrarians, resolutely refusing to wear masks either because we don’t give a damn about others or because we are taking our principles to an extreme.

Both claims are questionable, and the former is positively objectionable.

I’ve been wearing a mask when I go shopping or enter other indoor spaces where people congregate for a while now.

Have I betrayed my Libertarian principles?

Not at all.

I believe that people should wear masks because, on balance and in spite of minimal trustworthy information available to me, that is the right thing to do for me and everyone with whom I come into contact.

Potentially infecting someone else with a virus that could prove fatal violates their space. Self-ownership, personal responsibility and bodily rights are key issues for Libertarians.

So, masks make it less likely that people will violate these rights, both in terms of infecting others and being infected by others. What’s wrong with that?

 Another reason for wearing masks in enclosed spaces used by others is that it acts as an aide memoire reminding us that the virus hasn’t gone away, with weekly average daily infections is up over 25% in three weeks, probably a reflection of increased testing.

 In addition, mask wearing is a useful reminder for us all to maintain the highest levels of personal hygiene.

 Again, that is a matter of personal responsibility and it is all too easy to skimp on handwashing straight away after one returns from a venture outside. Having to take a mask off or put it away helps remind us to do just that.

 And, of course, improved personal hygiene and a cautious approach to getting too close to others outside one’s family for prolonged periods of time mean we are all less likely to pick up other transferable illnesses such as the ‘flu,  the common cold, and other bugs.

 So, given that as of 24 July, with one or two exceptions, we all need masks when we shop, what are my concerns?

 Quite simply, as ever, it relates to failures and over-reach by the State.

 The failures relate to Government departments’ ongoing inability to provide the general public with clear and consistent evidence of the benefits of mask-wearing for all. Added to that public information muddle has been the sight, until very recently, of some ministers wearing masks and others – including the Chancellor of the Exchequer - very ostentatiously not doing so.

 The over-reach is especially worrying. Under the new rules, the Police are able to issue £100 penalties for non-compliance, just as they are able to issue fines for large groups of people associating together in public. What a waste of precious Police resources.

 The results have been all too predictable. When the State expands Police powers, it is frequently the most vulnerable groups who find themselves at risk from the expansion of legal interference or the threat of law enforcement.

 It is no surprise then that the numbers of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic citizens who have been cautioned by Police for alleged breaches of social distancing is vastly disproportionate to their numbers in the population as a whole.

 A better and more Libertarian solution to a making it a legal requirement for shoppers to wear face masks in shops would be to allow individual shop owners to exercise their discretion and common sense.

 If their staff wear masks in carrying out their roles and appropriate social distancing is maintained, then the shoppers themselves can make their own minds up to wear mask or not.

 Forgive the pun: Libertarianism offers both a principled and an elastic solution to the face mask issue – without giving the State yet further reasons to intrude on our lives.

  Ends …..