Any libertarianism worth its name should be emphasizing the ways in which the voluntary, decentralized, polycentric processes and institutions of civil society other than the market also enable us to live together peacefully and productively. /1

When your argument against state-imposed lockdowns involves downplaying the seriousness of Covid, and the ease with which it can spread, you are discouraging people from engaging in exactly the sorts of civil society responses that are the superior alternative to lockdowns. /2

It’s not enough to be “anti-state.” Libertarianism needs to value civil society in an affirmative way. /3

Calling Covid a “mild respiratory disease” undermines the very processes and behaviors that are the alternatives to lockdowns and mandates. And it makes it look like liberty can’t actually work. /4

The better path is to recognize both the seriousness of the virus and the problems with lockdowns and mandates, and then work to encourage the “bottom up” responses that we know are more effective in dealing with disasters and crises of all kinds. /n