On March 2, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lifted his mandatory face mask order and said that businesses could begin operating at full capacity. His announcement met with quick criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, including President Biden, who said,
Texas—I think it’s a big mistake. We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because the way in which are are able to get vaccines in people’s arms. The last thing—the last thing—we need is Neanderthal thinking in the meantime.
Biden and other critics are concerned that Texas will see a spike in COVID cases after the lock down is lifted. But preventing a spike, like flattening the curve, is based on the wrong standard of value. Both are founded on the premise that government should do whatever it takes to save lives, including locking down the economy. And if the lock down destroys businesses and lives, well, that’s the price we must pay to save lives.
Saving lives is not a proper purpose of government. If it were, then government could justify banning automobiles and saving 40,000 American lives each year. It could institute a lock down each flu season and save another 40,000 lives. But we recognize and accept the risks involved in automobile travel. We recognize and accept the risks of being around others during flu season. And we accept those risks because we want the freedom to live our lives as we choose and pursue our own personal happiness. We accept those risks because the pursuit of happiness involves risks.
The proper purpose of government is the protection of our freedom to live as we choose (so long as we respect the freedom of others to do the same) and pursue our own personal happiness. This is the standard by which we must judge any government policy. By that standard, Abbott is correct to lift the order he never should have issued. By that standard, government should protect our freedom to take the risks that we find acceptable.
When individuals are free to live as they choose, some will take actions with which we disagree. And we are free to avoid such people. Some people will choose to go into public without a mask. It is our right to avoid them and/or the businesses that don’t require face masks.
But Abbott’s critics don’t want Texans to be free to choose. They believe that wearing a face mask will slow the spread of the virus, and if they can’t persuade individuals to wear a mask voluntarily, then they feel justified to mandate it. What they can’t achieve through voluntary means will be achieved through coercion. To paraphrase Ayn Rand, Abbott’s critics prefer a club to a syllogism.
Biden is correct to say that we don’t need Neanderthal thinking at this time. But in advocating brute force rather than reason, Biden is the Neanderthal.