6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis
The ‘lockdown’ policy adopted in response to an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has been the worst example of government failure in peacetime history. Justified by the perceived grave emergency, lockdown was based on epidemiological and medical advice at the heart of which was a report by the Imperial Colleg...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| 格式: | Online |
| 語言: | 英语 |
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Edward Elgar Publishing
2026
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| 在線閱讀: | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173445 |
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| _version_ | 1869529902242332672 |
|---|---|
| author | Campbell, David Dowd, Kevin |
| author_browse | Campbell, David Dowd, Kevin |
| author_facet | Campbell, David Dowd, Kevin |
| author_sort | Campbell, David |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | The ‘lockdown’ policy adopted in response to an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has been the worst example of government failure in peacetime history. Justified by the perceived grave emergency, lockdown was based on epidemiological and medical advice at the heart of which was a report by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team. This report predicted 510,000 deaths on the basis of absurd assumptions about a zero probability event, and advocated a ‘suppression’ policy, the empirical possibility of implementing which was never remotely adequately assessed. But though it had consequences of a quantitatively different order from other government failures, lockdown was qualitatively merely an example of the common form of such failures. The work of assessing empirical possibility is rarely adequately addressed, and difficulties of implementation are dismissed by what will be called the ‘ceteris paribus reasoning’ that follows from, as the report makes particularly clear, an inchoately communist belief in political will. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-173445 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| publisherStr | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1734452026-03-11T11:32:52Z 6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis Campbell, David Dowd, Kevin COVID-19 pandemic; Ronald Coase; Government failure; Blackboard economics JPFM JPFK JPA LAB The ‘lockdown’ policy adopted in response to an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has been the worst example of government failure in peacetime history. Justified by the perceived grave emergency, lockdown was based on epidemiological and medical advice at the heart of which was a report by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team. This report predicted 510,000 deaths on the basis of absurd assumptions about a zero probability event, and advocated a ‘suppression’ policy, the empirical possibility of implementing which was never remotely adequately assessed. But though it had consequences of a quantitatively different order from other government failures, lockdown was qualitatively merely an example of the common form of such failures. The work of assessing empirical possibility is rarely adequately addressed, and difficulties of implementation are dismissed by what will be called the ‘ceteris paribus reasoning’ that follows from, as the report makes particularly clear, an inchoately communist belief in political will. Published 2026-03-11T11:32:50Z 2026-03-11T11:32:50Z 2026-01-20 chapter 9781035309221 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173445 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/the-conservative-critique-of-liberalism-9781035309214.html https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap-oa/book/9781035309221/chapter6.xml Edward Elgar Publishing Edward Elgar Publishing 10.4337/9781035309221.00012 10.4337/9781035309221.00012 01ceac28-75b4-492a-8eec-f9b98bc6b28c https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 9781035309221 Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham, UK open access |
| spellingShingle | COVID-19 pandemic; Ronald Coase; Government failure; Blackboard economics JPFM JPFK JPA LAB Campbell, David Dowd, Kevin 6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis |
| title | 6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis |
| title_full | 6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis |
| title_fullStr | 6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis |
| title_full_unstemmed | 6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis |
| title_short | 6: Disregard of the empirical; optimism of the will: the abandonment of good government in the COVID-19 crisis |
| title_sort | 6 disregard of the empirical optimism of the will the abandonment of good government in the covid 19 crisis |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic; Ronald Coase; Government failure; Blackboard economics JPFM JPFK JPA LAB |
| topic_facet | COVID-19 pandemic; Ronald Coase; Government failure; Blackboard economics JPFM JPFK JPA LAB |
| url | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173445 |
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