Utilitarianism is the philosophical theory that the moral worth of an action can be determined by a mathematical calculation. The ‘good’ is to be determined by a “hedonic calculus” that rates pleasures and pains and decides which is predominant. In Jeremy Bentham’s classic statement, “”it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
One of its major shortcomings was that no one could develop a calculus to measure the implicit ‘utils’ of an action, and therefore, it offered no way to compare Action A to Action B. Today, we tend to laugh at the stupidity of trying to measure an emotion or utility of an action. But perhaps we protest too quickly. Isn’t this the unstated basis of Washington and most state governors’ emergency decrees today? We are told that government officials are balancing deaths from covid-19 against the untold sufferings of millions caused by the ‘stay at home’ and ‘close down’ executive orders. Increased suicide deaths, increased abuse of children and spouses, wiped out life savings, wiped out hope pale in comparison to the deaths that may occur from the disease. Few officials or pundits point out the unforeseen consequences of their edicts, because it is assumed without discussion that saving an unstated number of deaths overrides all considerations.
Lest we forget, wealth/money/finances are important! They represent our means to do life. For some, it represents their ability to achieve dreams; for others (perhaps of lessor means), it may be the ability to feed the kids or get necessary medical care. The wealth so casually thrown away by forcing shutdowns and unemployment equates to diminished life for many, perhaps for many years. Nor does the fact the deaths may happen more slowly and be hidden by poverty and systemic problems obviate the truth.
Just as important is the government’s power grab taking place under cover of the pandemic. The analogy of war is appropriate. War has always been “the health of the state.” Historically, war has led to a curtailment of civil liberties, even incarceration for non-crimes, or loss of freedom of the press. It has also been associated with “wartime socialism,” the historian’s name for America’s version of a command economy. After the war, freedoms are often restored – but not all. The elite loves this centralization, has eagerly embraced it, even though every country that has accepted it fully has become a living hell. And even when not fully embraced, to the extent it has been adopted, the quality of life and economic well-being of the masses has suffered.
Yet such understanding is absent from our leaders in Washington and the media. The media quotes Dr. Fauci approvingly.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said he doesn’t know why the United States hasn’t instituted a nationwide stay-at-home order amid the spread of COVID-19, saying the country “really should be” doing so to protect American lives.
“I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” Fauci, one of the leading scientific voices behind the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, told CNN on Thursday. “The tension between federally mandated versus states’ rights to do what they want is something I don’t want to get into. But if you look at what is going on in this country, I do not understand why we are not doing that. We really should be.”
Many people have suffered and died for the safeguards to freedom he so cavalierly dismisses. His focus on one thing – the number of people with the virus – dismisses the essence of our country without a second glance. (Expertise in one field does not necessarily carry over to another!) His blindness to the ‘people affects’ of government control of a society and economy cannot allow us as a people to throw away the freedoms our country was founded on. The horrors of the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela (and others) are worse by far than the covid-19 effects on Italy, Spain, and New York City.
You see, there is no mathematical calculus that can tell us if an enforced economic shutdown combined with enforced “social distancing” is better or worse than a voluntary, self-government response. It is not a question of pain on one hand and death on the other. There will be horror on both sides, regardless of our response. It’s not a question of calculus, but of ethics. Ethics, of necessity, includes such concepts as justice, freedom, and the quality of life. That discussion is sadly missing in almost every article and analysis I’ve seen of our current situation. It is unbelievably sad, and does not augur well for our future.
It is time for Washington and Harrisburg (or whatever the state) to stop playing god and limit themselves to the job they were assigned to!
(Quote from: https://frontier.yahoo.com/huffpost/dr-anthony-fauci-stay-at-home-orders-040921847.html)
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