Question 1
Libertarianism is a political ideology that prioritizes individual liberties and would do away with authorities (governments) if it was not needed to ensure that said liberties are protected. I argue that public health authorities (representing the government) are in the dilemma of protecting the citizens, like the residents of Oran, and observing their individual liberties. I argue that it is a fine balancing act of what individual liberties will be violated and to what extent it will be tolerated. I take this position because the only way individuals would allow public health authorities to act during a pandemic like the one described in Camus’s novel The Plague is if they are assumed to be rational agents. In this case, the dilemma disappears as the individuals will not need the public health authorities to take action. The ethical obligation will be shifted to the individual. However, man is irrational, thus creating the dilemma and shifting the ethical responsibility to an external entity with the requisite authority.
Kukathas (2015) libertarianism as a political ideology committed to individual liberty, where two ideas are espoused by libertarian positions. First, individuals will be given the right to live as they want or think is right, given that they will not force others to live as they do (1). Secondly, everyone has the right to own property, provided it was justly obtained. The government, therefore, arises out of the need to enforce these liberties. After all, not all agents will act rationally, where rational behavior is an observance or libertarian ideals. Not everyone can be rational, however. This is evident in Camus’s novel when a lockdown has to be enforced to prevent the spread of the mysterious plague.
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The first ethical obligation for public health authorities during a pandemic is to take measures to contain the spread of the sickness. There are different means to achieve this, and the authorities in Camus’s novel do this by imposing a quarantine on all individuals, especially the infected and those they have been in contact with recently. Public health authorities are also ethically obligated to educate the public on the measures to contain the spread of the mysterious infection or pandemic. Furthermore, public health authorities are obligated to seek medical supplies and vaccines for the infected and other residents of the cities and towns under lockdown. If a vaccine is not available, their ethical responsibility will be to develop one and use it to treat the masses.
However, these ethical obligations are also the source of dilemmas with libertarian ideologies. For instance, the corollary to the fundamental right to live as one desires is the freedom of movement without restriction in time and space. Therefore, putting in place quarantine measures and advising residents of Oran to stay indoors as much as possible is going against their freedom of movement. After all, there is a difference between sacrificing the needs of the few to save the many and granting individual liberties provided said individuals do not enforce their ideologies and ways of life on others. While the former is a rational argument used in times of war, which the pandemic in the novel is, and can be used to justify exceptions to libertarian ideals, the latter is the source of all dilemmas as it leaves no compromise. In other words, libertarianism guarantees that rational and irrational agents are virtually guaranteed the right of non-interference.
Question 2
Without entering into any moral dilemmas, public health authorities are ethically obligated to ensure that all health care activities are done by workers who are properly trained or have the necessary background and must be provided with the proper protective equipment. However, libertarian ideas require that participation in the efforts to fight a pandemic like the COVID19 be for the health care workers to provide their services voluntarily without any fear of coercion or repercussions. This is a corollary from the first fundamental idea of libertarianism: “each individual is entitled to live as he or she thinks right, provided he or she does not try to force others to live in the same fashion” (Kukathas, 2015, p.39). Public health authorities have numerous ethical obligations when dealing with the pandemic. However, I will only focus on their obligations to the health care workers. I choose this position because a public health authority is a collective term for health care workers at the forefront of fighting against the pandemic, but with the backing of the government and the resources, it avails.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a highly infectious disease that is easily transmitted from one person to another through contact and droplets in the air. Some of the health care workers are required to provide care to infected patients. However, coming into close contact with the patients exposes them to risks to their person, especially if they are not properly equipped, such as with full-body personal protective equipment (2). Note that these health care workers are operating on a voluntary basis. Therefore, the first obligation is to provide them with high-quality protective equipment. From a libertarian point of view, equipping the health care workers with the protective gear is in observance of their freedom of choice, especially since exercising said freedom knowingly puts them under considerable risks. Data from most sources covering the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that public health authorities and health care workers are properly protected when treating the patients (3). What the data has failed to reveal, however, is if all of the health care workers are fighting the pandemic in observance of their freedom of choice from a libertarian point of view.
The second ethical obligation is that public health authorities should recognize the limits to the ethical duty of care (1). For instance, if a health care worker has to perform a duty that will bring significant harm to themselves, such as to treat a patient without wearing the protective equipment, their ethical duty to treat will be discharged. Therefore, the burden of discharging the ethical duty of care shifts from the public health authorities and other regulating bodies to the individual health care worker, based on personal circumstances and the specific patient care activity. It is unclear whether public health authorities recognize the limits to the duty of care and follow through with their ethical obligations in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no data sources or research studies (yet to be published) that were looking into these perspectives.
References
1. BC Ministry of health. COVID-19 Ethics Analysis: What is the Ethical Duty of Health Care Workers to Provide Care During COVID-19 Pandemic? [Internet]. BC: BC Center for Disease Control; 2020. Available from: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/duty_to_care_during_covid_march_28_2020.pdf
2. Burton MJ, Clarkson JE, Goulao B, Glenny AM, McBain AJ, Schilder AG, Webster KE, Worthington HV. Use of antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays by healthcare workers to protect them when treating patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020(9).
3. CARE DT. Conflicting duties and reciprocal obligations during a pandemic. Journal of hospital medicine. 2020 May;15(5):285.
4. Kukathas C. Two constructions of libertarianism. Libertarian Papers. 2009;1:1.
