"Infectious Diseases and Government Growth," by Christopher J. Coyne, Nathan P. Goodman, and Abigail Deveraux (The Independent Review, Spring 2021)

In early 2020, COVID-19 emerged from China. In response, and at the urging of the World Health Organization (WHO), governments across the globe, including those in the United States, kicked into high gear their regulatory machinery. Citizens were ordered to stay-at-home and, as designated by officials, shutter all schools and “non-essential” businesses, restrict travel, and ban religious, sports and other events.

In this video, Independent Institute Executive Director Dr. Graham H. Walker interview Independent Senior Fellow Christopher Coyne to discuss Independent's shocking new article on the alarming extension of government power in the U.S.—the long-term consequences of which are devastating to civil society, economic welfare and the rule of law. So say the article's authors in "The Independent Review," the peer-reviewed journal on political economy of the Independent Institute.

In “Infectious Diseases and Government Growth,” Christopher J. Coyne—Co-Editor of the journal—Nathan P. Goodman, and Abigail Deveraux make the compelling case that regulations designed to combat the pandemic have required new draconian and unconstitutional forms of the state’s police powers—surveillance, extraordinary fines, exclusion of citizens from government services, and the use of physical force against violators.

To make matters worse, the history of government control warns us that these increases in government power may well not be retracted after the pandemic—to the great detriment to economic and civil liberties, other and more severe health risks, and overall human well-being.