How Libertarians View the Coronavirus Crisis

“For those of us who don’t want to go fully off-grid but concern ourselves with the expansion of the state, what might a pandemic response look like?”

It is a mistake to believe, as many seem to, that libertarians are ideologically unequipped to deal with an epidemic. Such an assertion relies on a narrow, cartoonish understanding of modern libertarianism, the ideology of the cabin-bound recluse, who emerges only sporadically (via private road, of course) to exchange gold for raw materials. (Ironically, not a bad strategy at the present moment!)

No doubt, such figures do exist. But, as I’ve written before, most Americans hold libertarian values to some degree or another. For those of us who don’t want to go fully off-grid but concern ourselves with the expansion of the state, what might a pandemic response look like? How would libertarians prefer that governments and businesses deal with the coronavirus epidemic?

As any good libertarian would predict, private industry has risen to the occasion. The maker of the now-popular N95 respirator, 3M, increased production to 100,000 masks per month and is slated to produce them at a rate of 1.1 billion per year.

In a pandemic, regulators can do more by doing less

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many libertarians have been quick to point out that one of the best ways the government can help combat the coronavirus pandemic is to get out of the way. Indeed, the repeal of burdensome regulations and rules, many of which are of questionable utility even under normal circumstances, will help the healthcare system and other institutions efficiently allocate resources and save lives.