A Lesson from the Lock Down

The lock down imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated a fundamental truth: Without the freedom to produce and trade, we cannot live happy, flourishing lives.

Millions have lost their jobs and been forced to consume their savings or depend on government payments, not because of irresponsibility, but because government has prohibited them from working. Countless business owners have seen their dreams and hard work destroyed, not because of mismanagement, but because government has made it criminal for them to open.

Many of the things that we took for granted just nine months ago are now denied to us. We cannot attend concerts, movie theaters, or professional sporting events. Many of our favorite restaurants and retail stores have been permanently shuttered, and we will never again experience the unique pleasures those businesses brought to our lives.

We cannot live without material values–food, clothing, shelter, smart phones, computers, and televisions. But these values do not magically appear. They must be produced. And because nobody can produce every value that he wants and needs, we must trade with others to obtain the products that they produce. The freedom to produce and trade is the essence of the right to property. Exercising the right to property–production and trade–is the means by which we survive and thrive.

The lock down has stripped us of the freedom to produce and trade. It has denied us the means to pursue the values of our choosing–our happiness. If we value our own happiness, then we must defend and protect the freedom to produce and trade. This is a lesson that we must learn from the lock down.