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While it is clear that COVID-19 constitutes an unprecedented emergency, some states’ policy responses have tended towards authoritarianism, restrictions on basic freedoms, restrictions on trade, and mass surveillance of citizens. These responses are also a major cause of concern, presenting a unique emergency situation themselves.
This COVID-19 Government Response Map serves as a visual reminder that liberty is constantly under threat, and must diligently be defended, especially during unique sets of circumstances such as the current crisis. It highlights the relationship between liberty and security, and is reminiscent of the words of Benjamin Franklin, who warned us that “a society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither.”
The ease with which states have switched to enforcement mode is an all too real reminder that states are monopolies of violence who will use police and prisons against their own citizens whenever circumstances provide an excuse to abandon the basic principles of human rights, self-ownership, and dignity.
Students For Liberty set out to assess current government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by tapping into our expansive global network. This has allowed us to learn about what is happening in different places, changes to everyday life, and the changing relationship between the citizen and the state, all from a first-hand and personal perspective, while backed up with both governmental, non-governmental, and media sources.
104 responses were collected from 63 countries. Once the data was parsed, graded, fact-checked, and analysed it revealed an interesting picture of how different regimes have handled the health crisis and how the health crisis has become a crisis for freedom too. This map highlights the current crisis from a different perspective, one that is perhaps overshadowed by the virus. It provides a snapshot of our world as it is right now, and brings certain potential futures into focus; futures that we may not want to visit.
At this time, Students For Liberty calls on people from all countries and communities to remain vigilant in this fight against COVID-19, which is attacking our fundamental liberties as well as the most vulnerable in our societies. Now, for the first time in many of our lives, freedom is at stake in a very palpable way.
Students For Liberty will continue to protect and fan the flames of liberty, but liberty also needs to be defended and asserted on a personal level too. If you want to learn more about our work or to apply for our leadership program click here.
For more information about this project please contact [email protected].
Don’t see your country listed on the map? Click here.
Note: The information presented in our map is correct as of April 30, 2020.
