An ‘Abundance of Caution’ Mentality Leads to Tyranny

The revelation of COVID-19’s omicron variation, which is a variant of COVID-19, caused panic across the world. At the time of writing, we are aware that omicron may be more easily transmissible than previous variants. There is no evidence that omicron has a higher risk of death. To the contrary, Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, explained that the symptoms associated with omicron were “mild,” explaining, “we don’t see severely ill patients.”

If that were true, it would be a reason to cheer for omicron. It’s because delta has a high infectious rate and herd immunity is a distant dream. That means that people would prefer an omicron to a Delta infection if they had the option. A positive change for global health could be made if the omicron virus were to outnumber the deadlier version.

But our institution leaders’ reaction has been totally unhinged. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, every American over the age of 18 must get a booster shot for COVID-19. There is little evidence that boosters decrease the rate of hospitalization and deaths from COVID-19 for children (although they do for people older than 60). Dr. Anthony Fauci appears to be gravely concerned about vaccine mandates in the air, as well as new mask mandates. Gov. Kathy Hochul from New York has declared a State of Emergency that permits the suspension of elective procedures.

Markets have plummeted. This is the predictable outcome. These markets have plummeted not because of the omicron but because they know that the private sector will continue to fight for economic freedom. Our political system has been a failure throughout this pandemic. Perhaps their greatest success was in distributing cash to pharmaceutical companies who developed vaccines. Nearly all other public policies have failed.

Omicron will be the same. Omicron already exists in countries all over the world. The pandemic was not controlled by lockdown in isolated areas of the world. Lockdown will no longer be effective. The actual rate of disease replication has been disassociated significantly from mask mandates. There are vaccines already available. Those who fear omicron will be vaccinated.

This is a time to breathe.

Our public officials, however, are utterly inept at humility. They claim this time will be different. This time they’ll stop disease spreading. The most powerful people in society seem to have an vested interest believing that they are able to stop the spread of disease, death, and poverty. This lies is not going to be broken. Citizens will see the truth and regain control of their lives.

Instead, we’re told that we must hand over more control to our authoritarian-minded leaders, to the self-appointed Scientific Experts (TM) — all out of an “abundance of caution,” of course. Surprisingly, this abundance of caution doesn’t seem to allow for unprecedented intervention in daily life and the global economy. Our elites are able to throw caution to the winds in these areas.

A true “abundance of caution” mentality would suggest that before we destroy our institutions again — before we overthrow free markets in the name of welfarism, checks and balances in the name of health authoritarianism, and individual liberty in the name of safety — we see some data. Otherwise, heavy-handed “solutions” will always be the measure of first resort, long before we even know whether a crisis has materialized.

Ben Shapiro, 37, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers “How To Destroy America In Three Easy Steps,” “The Right Side Of History,” and “Bullies.”