|
|
| Re: Now It Hits Home. (1897979) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > OTChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
Re: Now It Hits Home. |
|
|
Posted by Stephen Bauman on Tue May 17 12:49:49 2022, in response to Re: Now It Hits Home., posted by Fisk Ave Jim on Tue May 17 10:37:57 2022. What the hell does that have to do with the contrast dyes shortage?? And what does anyones political philosophy have to do with the Chinese lockdowns?Let me connect the dots. An opportunity to contain or eliminate Covid was missed when the number of cases was in the hundreds or thousands, as was done with SARS-1, MERS, Ebola and many other infectious dieases. This was possible even in the absence of vaccines, therapeutics, tests, etc. Strict quarantines of those infected, distance and masking requirements for those not infected, contact tracing, etc. are the time tested method when neither vaccines nor therapeutics are available. These procedures involve the temporary sacrifice of individual liberties to which libertarians objected. The libertarians held sway raising alternate facts like herd immunity, unsubstantiated claims for repurposed drugs, downplaying Covid's seriousness, splitting hairs like dying "with" rather than "from" Covid, etc. The libertarians objected to any interference to their perceived freedom regardless how innocuous. It should be a parental decision and not the govt... they [parents] should decide weather or not they should wear masks The predictable result is that Covid has remained out of control to this day. Some totalitarian countries, like China, are immune from libertarian pressures and have adopted a zero Covid policy. This policy is designed to save lives, rather than the economy. They have been successful in containing it. Unfortunately, Covid has evolved over the last couple of years to be far more contagious. It takes only a single contact to start an uncontrolled infection. China did not adequately seal its borders by quarantining all visitors. China's only recourse is to contain the contagion until it runs its course, once it appears - economy be damned. Had libertarians' objections not blocked Covid containment in early 2000, and were meaningful travel restrictions today, the Shanghai outbreak would not have occurred. There is a breed of libertarians who have extended their freedom concepts to the economic sphere. Their golden rule is to do unto others BEFORE they do unto you. They abhor any government regulations, taxes, or other constraints on the unfettered pursuit of maximizing corporate profits. One way to maximize profits is to eliminate redundancy. Redundancy does improve availability at the cost of profits. That's why manufacturing, including the dyes required for your CT scan, are outsourced to China. Governments could place controls on the export of capital or require adequate strategic inventories at the corporate level. Such regulations are counter to economic libertarian policy. |
|
|
|