Is There a Right to Be Free?

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When we put restrictions of various kinds on young people, on the grounds that they could interact with older people, that's the real argument. People often criticize Coase on ethical grounds saying, well, he treats everything like it's a Coase benefit analysis. But I think there's a deeper point here, which is that if we say to young people, you don't have the right to be free because you might put older people at risk. You're essentially empowering older people to say, I have decided you cannot enjoy life because I'm at risk. And I don't want to bear the cost of having to stay inside. I want to be free to go out."

Economist Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks about the pandemic with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Boudreaux argues that a perfect storm of factors created a huge overreaction, including unnecessary lockdowns that accomplished little at a very high cost in physical and emotional health. Instead, Boudreaux argues, we should have focused attention on the population most at risk of dying from COVID--the elderly and especially the elderly with co-morbidities. The conversation includes a discussion of externalities and the insights of Ronald Coase applied to the policies during the pandemic.