There are three kinds of people:

1. People who trust scientists and dutifully do what they are told.  Most are vaccinated for Covid.

2. People who are skeptical of scientists and/or are bitterly resentful at being told they must get vaccinated.  They are often unvaccinated.

3.  People who are skeptical of scientists and bitterly resent authorities telling them they cannot get vaccinated until the FDA approves a vaccine.  Most are vaccinated.

As you may have guessed, I’m in the third group.  I suspect that this is by far the smallest of the three groups.  I am also in the tiny group that was pro-mask at a time the CDC was discouraging mask usage.  I’m a rebel.

One argument against libertarianism is that people need to be protected from themselves.  I suspect, however, that statists underestimate the extent to which paternalism actually causes bad behavior:

1. A paternalistic policy regime makes people less careful.  Think of moral hazard and bank depositors.

2. Paternalism annoys people, and then their instinct to be contrarian pushed them to engage in self destructive behavior.

3. Paternalism leads to regulation that creates a monoculture, making it more difficult to see what works best.