by Ethan Yang
The American Institute for Economic Research
There has been much discussion over the immediate effects of public health interventions such as business closures and restrictions on social activity in response to Covid-19. It is clear that lockdowns have led to a number of adverse consequences such as unprecedented economic retraction, psychological stress, suicides, and disruptions to all sorts of important social institutions. These factors alone, combined with the questionable efficacy of lockdown policies in preventing Covid-19 deaths, should encourage consideration for the contrary. However, what has seen sparse attention is the long-term consequences that come with drastic lockdown policies.
Lockdowns do not happen in a vacuum, history keeps moving even after Covid-19 is gone and the actions we take today will set the foundation for tomorrow. For example, if we forcefully redistributed all the wealth in society we could easily eradicate poverty and inequality. However, in the long term that would likely lead to severe economic retraction and require that the United States government become a dictatorship.