We are entering the Post-COVID world. And the role of liberals and progressives (as well as libertarians and champions of constitutional rights) is far more significant now than we realize. COVID-19 has brought on many changes in society. As COVID numbers diminish, there is a renewed euphoria in progressive circles in the wake of the pandemic concomitant with a Democrat presidential victory and an unprecedented awareness of gender and racial inequalities.
While there is much to be excited about for progressives, warning flags have appeared that raise questions about whether our future direction is genuinely one of greater equality.
The COVID pandemic has shown all of us the power of government public health institutions in mobilizing and transforming society to deal with a pandemic threat. Yet, at the same time, public health policy, supported by the overwhelming majority of progressives, has become a paternalist force that has used its authority to control, manipulate, and divide the body politic, marginalizing or censoring public voices—investigative, scientific, and medical—that deviate from the “official story” of COVID-19.