Reflecting on Lord Sumption’s extraordinary interview last month:
“When human societies lose their freedom, it’s not usually because tyrants have taken it away. It’s usually because people willingly surrender their freedom in return for protection against some external threat” /1

“The threat is usually a real threat but usually exaggerated. That’s what I fear we’re seeing now. The pressure on politicians has come from the public. They want action. They don’t pause to ask whether the action will work. They don’t ask themselves whether the cost... /2

... will be worth paying. They want action anyway. (..) Hysteria is infectious. We are working ourselves up into a lather in which we exaggerate the threat and stop asking ourselves whether the cure may be worse than the disease. (..) this is how societies become despotisms.” /3

“It is the right and duty of every citizen to look and see what the scientists have said and to analyse it for themselves (..) there’s no particular reason why the scientific nature of the problem should mean we have to resign our liberty into the hands of scientists.” /4

“We all have critical faculties and it’s rather important, in a moment of national panic, that we should maintain them.” /5

The bottom up/top down question of public pressure and political will is one of the oldest in political science. And not sure I agree with Lord Sumption in this case. But was shocked by The Clamour among left, chatterati, intellectuals. Nonetheless..

As we learnt from 9/11, it’s these days + weeks that are *vital* for holding onto our senses, long term thinking, protecting communities & defending liberty. When power is so inflated it’s easy for us to feel insignificant when we’re anything but. Freedom is ours for the taking..